Roster: still hunting a wing upgrade
After missing Jonathan Kuminga (who signed with Minnesota, NBA transaction log Sept. 3), Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer said on an NBA Insider Notebook livestream that the Lakers are still looking at deals involving Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt for a wing/forward upgrade. Fischer called the roster “incomplete” and noted there is time before a decision is required—this is insider reporting, not a confirmed trade.
Heavy’s write-up of the same remarks notes Knecht (~$4.2M) and Vanderbilt (~$12.4M in 2026–27) together offer roughly $16.6M in matching salary, and that L.A. still carries 16 standard contracts (must get to 15 by opening night). Prior Athletic reporting had rival execs lukewarm on both players without draft sweetener. Fantasy trade mocks remain speculation only.
Barkley: don’t sleep on this remade roster
On The Bill Simmons Podcast (covered Sept. 8), Charles Barkley pushed back on the idea that a post-LeBron Lakers group around Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves will take a step back. Barkley said he wants L.A. to do well and argued the remade supporting cast—anchored by the Walker Kessler acquisition plus summer adds—could be “probably better” or “just as good” as the Dončić–Kyrie Irving Mavericks Finals team. Opinion, not a projection model. Training camp report is still expected around Sept. 29.
New York Post / California Post
Ownership watch: BOG week approaches
Sports Business Journal’s Sept. 8 roundup again centers Charles Gasparino’s sourcing that Thrive Capital’s Josh Kushner—not Bob Iger—is expected as the lone controlling shareholder / NBA governor once the Mark Walter majority sale (~$12.5B valuation) clears, with Kushner personally putting up at least the 15% (~$1.875B) stake. Iger is framed as minority owner, alternate governor, and day-to-day ops face. That remains reported expectation, not a closed deal.
Jeanie Buss’s LA Superior Court petition to block her siblings’ sale of the family’s ~17.8% stake still has its hearing on Dec. 8 (moved from Nov. 5). Sept. 5 analysis still paints her path to keep the 15% governor floor as narrow if that minority sale closes. The Buss litigation is not expected to halt the separate Walter→Kushner/Iger majority path.
Sports Business Journal · NY Post (Kushner control, Sept. 3) · NY Post (Dec. 8 hearing)
Watch next
- Sept. 15–16 NBA Board of Governors in New York (majority-sale approval process; earlier reports still have Kushner needing to clear limited Miami Heat equity).
- Late roster consolidation (Knecht/Vanderbilt trade talk or a cut to 15) before camp.
- Camp open ~Sept. 29.
- Dec. 8 LA Superior Court hearing on the Buss family-stake petition.