If there’s one word echoing around the NBA following the Los Angeles Lakers’ record-setting $10 billion sale, it’s “dangerous.” That’s how both Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and ESPN insider Brian Windhorst now describe the Lakers after billionaire Mark Walter acquired controlling interest in the franchise.
“Dangerous” Is the Word: Green and Windhorst Sound Alarm on Los Angeles Lakers’ New Era
“When I look at this move and the Lakers selling for $10 billion to Mark Walter, you know what I say?” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “‘Oh man, that makes the Lakers dangerous.’”
Green, never shy about calling it like it is, believes the sale marks a fundamental shift in how the Lakers can operate. Under Jeanie Buss and the Buss family, the team remained competitive and iconic—but, Green points out, they were never among the wealthiest owners in the league.
“The only thing ever stopping the Lakers was… by terms of NBA ownership standards, Jeanie Buss and the Buss family were one of the least wealthiest families,” Green explained. “When that is the source of your income, you’re going to be more mindful.”
Now, with Walter—also principal owner of the Dodgers—taking the reins, Green expects a completely different level of aggression in roster building and spending.
“You’ve got an owner with deep pockets,” he said. “He’s going to say, ‘Go get me this guy and that guy.’”
Brian Windhorst echoed that on ESPN, noting,
“I think the Lakers are only going to get more dangerous as an organization with the more resources that are theoretically here, about to be poured into it.”
Walter’s track record with the Dodgers speaks volumes. He modernized their front office, spared no expense to win, and turned them into a perennial World Series contender. Now he has the keys to one of the most iconic brands in sports.
With stars like Luka Doncic and LeBron James already in place—or on the brink of major decisions—the new financial clout could push them from contenders to juggernauts.
The league has been warned. The Lakers aren’t just rich in legacy anymore. They’re rich—period. And that makes them dangerous.