BMO named exclusive official bank
The Lakers and BMO announced a long-term partnership Monday naming BMO the exclusive Official Bank of the Los Angeles Lakers, starting with the 2026-27 season.
Per the joint release and Sports Business Journal, BMO will present training camp, appear on newly designed practice jerseys, and take inaugural naming rights on BMO Courtside Reserve floor seats and club at Crypto.com Arena. The deal also covers a League of Stars program spotlighting Lakers legends and community financial-empowerment programming across Southern California. Lakers president and chief business officer Lon Rosen called it a "paradigm shift" in how the franchise partners with brands. Excel facilitated the negotiations, SBJ reported.
This is a confirmed team/sponsor announcement, not a rumor.
PR Newswire · Sports Business Journal
Two weeks to the Board of Governors window
The NBA Board of Governors meets in New York on Sept. 15–16. Multiple reports have the Kushner-Iger purchase of Mark Walter's majority stake (reported at a $12.5 billion valuation) heading into that approval process. ESPN has noted Kushner must still sell his limited Miami Heat equity before board approval can finish. USA Today and Yahoo Sports have cautioned that a final 75% vote may not land at this first September meeting, and that remote approval later is possible.
Separately, Jeanie Buss's Los Angeles Superior Court petition to block her five siblings from selling the family's roughly 17.8% stake remains pending, with a hearing scheduled for Nov. 5. Those claims are unadjudicated. A Los Angeles Times source close to the matter said the Walter-to-Kushner/Iger majority sale is not expected to be affected by the family litigation.
Sunday's Los Angeles Times business feature walked through how Josh Kushner and Bob Iger put the majority deal together in roughly 72 hours after Walter's insurance businesses drew federal scrutiny. Kushner declined to be interviewed for that piece; Iger spoke on the record about Kushner's work style, not Lakers operating plans.
ESPN · Los Angeles Times · Los Angeles Times (petition) · Yahoo Sports
Kuminga's Wolves deal cleared the apron; Lakers still over the limit
Minnesota finalized the path to Jonathan Kuminga's two-year, about $12.4 million agreement (player option year two) over the weekend. The Timberwolves traded Josh Green and cash to Utah for Cody Williams and John Konchar, then waived and stretched Konchar to stay under the second apron, the Star Tribune and ESPN reported. That closes the free-agency chase the Lakers lost earlier in the week.
Los Angeles still has roster math of its own. Prior reporting put the Lakers over the 15-man regular-season guaranteed limit, so a cut or trade remains due before opening night. Training camp is about a month away. Analysis pieces continue to frame the post-Kuminga wing hole as an internal solution; that is opinion, not a team announcement.
Star Tribune · ESPN · AP