Iger and Kushner's Billion-Dollar Bet, and the Ayton Trade…

By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Monday, September 21

The Lakers' beat spent the week counting two things: dollars and picks. Silver Screen and Roll surfaced a surprise draft-capital return tied to Deandre Ayton while the team's new owners talked openly about tripling the franchise's worth within a decade.

Austin Reaves of the Lakers — Austin Reaves. Photo: ReaganHoang10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The New Owners' Numbers

Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner agreed August 12 to buy controlling interest in the Lakers from Mark Walter for $12.5 billion, an American sports record. Silver Screen and Roll reports the new ownership group expects to triple the franchise's valuation within the next decade. The Los Angeles Times, via Bill Shaikin, reported ticket prices could rise substantially as Iger and Kushner look to cut brokers out of the resale market. The roster's math today hasn't moved: payroll totals $201.3 million, above the $200.4 million luxury tax line, with camp still weeks from a single game.

A Center's Quiet Exit

Silver Screen and Roll reported this week that the Lakers were surprised to receive draft capital back in a deal involving Deandre Ayton this offseason. The team's own transaction record carries no such move, and Ayton is absent from the twenty-one names on the current roster. The Lakers' list of future picks, already thin through 2030 with selections protected, swapped or owed to Dallas, Memphis and Brooklyn, shows no addition either. Treat it as Silver Screen and Roll's reporting for now, unconfirmed by anything else on the beat.

Teammates on Luka

Austin Reaves told Lakers Nation that no one can replicate Luka Dončić's pace and style of play, from a teammate who logged 51 games, 23.3 points and 5.5 assists a night last season. Silver Screen and Roll asked whether Quentin Grimes, who averaged 13.4 points across 75 games and carries a $14.0 million salary, can become a core piece of the roster's future. Collin Sexton told Lakers Nation he is pleased with his shooting improvement since entering the league; last season he shot 40.1 percent from three across 68 games, per the numbers on file.

Did the Lakers trade Deandre Ayton?

Silver Screen and Roll reported the Lakers were surprised to get draft capital back for Ayton this offseason, but the move doesn't appear in the team's own transaction record and Ayton isn't on the current roster.

Who owns the Lakers now?

Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner agreed August 12, 2026 to buy controlling interest from Mark Walter for $12.5 billion, and Silver Screen and Roll reports the new owners expect to triple the franchise's valuation within a decade.

By the Lakers Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.