Buss brothers join Padres' new ownershp group amid Lakers saga

Members of the Buss family, renowned for their ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers, have joined the newly formed ownership group of the San Diego Padres. However, Jeanie Buss will not be part of this venture. The two youngest Buss brothers, Joey and Jesse, will own approximately 5% of the baseball team, according to ESPN. The financial details of this acquisition were reported by the Wall Street Journal, which stated that the new Padres owners, José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones, paid a league-record $3.9 billion for the team.

ESPN revealed that Joey and Jesse will be part of the Padres’ ownership group's advisory board. This development follows the ongoing conflict between Jeanie Buss, who aims to retain her position as the governor and controlling owner of the Lakers, and her siblings, who are seeking to sell their 17.8% stake in the Lakers. The Lakers themselves underwent a significant change this month when they were sold to businessman Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a staggering $12.5 billion.

Mark Walter had purchased the team around a year prior, an event that potentially impacted the younger Buss brothers.

Joey and Jesse were reportedly removed from their roles in the Lakers' front office as the organization restructured its basketball operations department. Their father, Jerry Buss, was the patriarch of the Lakers, having owned the team from 1979 until his passing in 2013. The specifics of Joey and Jesse's involvement with the Lakers remain unclear.

However, ESPN noted that the brothers would leverage their expertise in areas such as player development, payroll management, and roster construction as members of the advisory committee.