Joey and Jesse Buss’s Buss Sports Capital has joined the San Diego Padres’ new ownership group, the brothers announced Wednesday. ESPN sources put the stake in the neighborhood of 5%. They will sit on the ownership advisory board.

The Padres’ controlling sale to Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano closed last week at a reported $3.9 billion valuation. Buss Sports Capital launched after the family sold its Lakers majority to Mark Walter last year. ESPN reports the brothers are also still pursuing a stake in the upcoming NBA Europe league.

The timing overlaps the family fight over the Lakers’ remaining roughly 17.8% share. Jeanie Buss is asking a court to block her siblings from selling that stake. Those claims remain unadjudicated. Walter also owns the Dodgers, so the brothers’ Padres investment puts them across town from his other club.

ESPN · The Athletic · CBS Sports

After Kuminga, the fifth starter is likely already on the roster

Jonathan Kuminga’s two-year Timberwolves agreement, reported Wednesday, closed the Lakers’ two-month wing pursuit. The New York Post’s Khobi Price, writing Thursday, says a starting-caliber wing is no longer sitting in free agency, the Lakers lack the draft capital for a big trade, and the fifth starter is likely already on the team.

They still have work. Multiple reports have Los Angeles at 16 guaranteed standard contracts, one over the 15-man regular-season limit. Cuts or a trade are due by opening night (Oct. 21). Training camp is about a month away.

Silver Screen and Roll’s Jacob Rude, in a Thursday night mailbag, does not expect another signing. He does expect the front office to keep looking for a trade. If it comes to a cut, he puts Dalton Knecht or Jaden Hardy first in line. That is analysis, not a team announcement.

The Timberwolves still need a roster move of their own (Josh Green, via trade or a waive-and-stretch) before Saturday’s stretch deadline to fit Kuminga. That deal is agreed, not yet completed.

New York Post · Silver Screen and Roll · Associated Press

McMenamin: nothing points to Luka walking

Asked whether 2026-27 could be Luka Dončić’s last season in Los Angeles, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote Thursday that nothing points that way. He cited the incoming Kushner-Iger ownership still building around Dončić, plus the six-figure Slovenia minicamp Dončić hosted for teammates.

Dončić signed a three-year extension in August 2025, with a player option for 2028-29. Bleacher Report notes an ESPN summer-forecast panel scored “no” 20 points to “yes” 4 on this being his last Lakers season. That is a prediction, not a contract or trade report.

Bleacher Report · HEAVY

Jonathan Kuminga agreed to a two-year, $12.4 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a player option on year two, according to the Associated Press and ESPN’s Shams Charania. His agent is Aaron Turner.

The Lakers had been working a three-year sign-and-trade in the $12 million-plus per year range. Chicago and Portland also had interest.

Minnesota’s pitch: start next to LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves still need a roster move — likely waiving and stretching Josh Green — before Saturday.

Associated Press · CBS Sports

Jeanie Buss files to block a sibling sale of the trust stake

Jeanie Buss filed a 97-page petition in Los Angeles Superior Court, processed Wednesday, August 26, seeking to block five siblings from selling the family trust’s remaining roughly 17.8% stake in the Lakers. A hearing is set for November 5.

She says she was never told, never consulted, and never agreed. The petition asks the court to void the sale resolution, remove Janie and Joey as co-trustees, and hold others in contempt. The allegations are unadjudicated.

Reporting says the majority sale to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger is not expected to be derailed. An NBA governor must own at least 15% of the team.

The Athletic · Los Angeles Times