Josh Kushner should promote his minority stake within the Miami Warmth earlier than he can full his buy of the Los Angeles Lakers, in keeping with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The possession challenge may delay the Lakers transaction as a result of Miami’s possession construction is intently held and Warmth shares are hardly ever accessible.
“The Warmth don’t promote shares fairly often. That’s a really intently held workforce,” Windhorst stated. “That probably may take a while.”
Kushner, the founding father of Thrive Capital, is a part of the possession group looking for to amass the Lakers alongside former Disney CEO Bob Iger. The proposed transaction values the Lakers at approximately $12.5 billion and nonetheless requires approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
The requirement for Kushner to divest his Warmth curiosity creates a separate transaction that should be accomplished earlier than the Lakers buy might be finalized. Windhorst’s feedback point out that discovering a purchaser for the Warmth stake might not be easy as a result of Miami has a restricted variety of possession shares in circulation.
The timing is notable as a result of the Lakers are coming into the 2026-27 season after a serious roster reconstruction. Los Angeles completed 53-29 in 2025-26, fourth within the Western Convention, earlier than being swept 4-0 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the playoffs.
The Lakers have since moved decisively towards a Luka Doncic-led roster. Doncic averaged 33.5 factors, 8.3 assists and seven.7 rebounds in 64 video games final season whereas capturing 47.6% from the sphere and 36.6% from three-point vary.
Austin Reaves additionally enters the brand new period after averaging 23.3 factors and 5.5 assists in 51 video games. The Lakers committed four years and $185 million to Reaves, whereas buying Walker Kessler on a four-year, $130 million contract to grow to be the workforce’s defensive anchor.
The possession transition comes after Mark Walter’s transient tenure as Lakers controlling proprietor. Walter agreed to amass a controlling stake from the Buss household in 2025 at a reported $10 billion valuation, with the transaction closing in October 2025.
The proposed $12.5 billion sale would signify a roughly $2.5 billion enhance in valuation for Walter in lower than a 12 months, though the transaction stays topic to league approval.
For Kushner, nonetheless, the rapid hurdle is his Warmth funding. Miami completed 43-39 in 2025-26 and entered the postseason by way of the Jap Convention play-in match earlier than its season ended, whereas the Lakers superior to the Western Convention semifinals.
