When the Lakers were sold to Mark Walter, the initial conversations focused on keeping things relatively the same. Jeanie Buss was going to remain the governor of the Lakers, and while an injection of money was imminent, perhaps it didn’t mean people were going to be leaving.
Well, just a couple of months into the transaction, and business has been far from usual.
Joey and Jesse Buss were terminated from their executive positions along with most of the scouting staff.
Now, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic, Tim Harris, the Lakers President of Business Operations, will not return next year.
Harris is widely considered responsible for the Lakers’ local TV rights deal with Spectrum SportsNet, which is incredibly good. That deal has brought in billions of dollars to the franchise over the years, helping the Buss family run the organization.
Considering that Harris has been with the Lakers for over 35 years, this is a major shake-up. It’s unknown at this time why this is happening, or whether Harris had been contemplating it for a while, or if the change in ownership influenced his decision.
What is known is that Harris was one of the people in Jeanie Buss’ inner circle who received a huge bonus after the sale of the Lakers.
Another thing that is all but guaranteed is that this won’t be the last person to leave the Lakers in the near future. A new owner often means changes are on the way.
And even if the perception is that Walter allows his employees to do their work and can be a bit hands-off, he didn’t hire the current people working for LA.
So, expect change to be a constant for the purple and gold. And even people like Harris, who have been with the franchise for decades, will be exiting as Walter fully takes over and starts making more decisions.
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