{"id":42510,"date":"2026-08-13T05:56:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T00:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42510"},"modified":"2026-08-13T05:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T00:56:39","slug":"dodgers-not-expecting-any-changes-after-mark-walter-lakers-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42510","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers not expecting any changes after Mark Walter Lakers sale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fnewspress-collage-g7y3c0nrg-1786581474818.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261786567259\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Hours after Wednesday\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/bob-iger-reveals-details-of-lakers-purchase-its-extraordinary\/\">bombshell news<\/a> that Dodgers owner Mark Walter was <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/inside-lakers-12-billioin-sale-josh-kushner-bob-iger\/\">selling his majority stake in the Lakers<\/a> at a record $12.5 billion valuation, Dodgers team president Stan Kasten was adamant that no changes were coming within the Dodgers organization.<\/p>\n<p>Kasten also confirmed that Walter has no plans to sell the baseball team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a Lakers story, it\u2019s not really a Dodgers story,\u201d Kasten told reporters on Wednesday afternoon, speaking from the field at Dodger Stadium while the team took batting practice. \u201cIt really has nothing to do with the Dodgers. They\u2019re completely separate. So there are no changes here \u2026 I think that pretty much is the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Los Angeles Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter, left, Shohei Ohtani, middle, and president and CEO Stan Kasten smile during a news conference at Dodger Stadium. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <em>actual <\/em>story, of course, at least appears a bit more complicated.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/lakers-sold-to-josh-kusner-bob-iger-for-historic-12-billion-in-nba-shocker\/\">Walter\u2019s sale of the Lakers<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/inside-new-lakers-owners-bob-iger-and-josh-kushners-huge-net-worths\/\">former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner<\/a> shocked the sports world, given Walter had just bought the team in a $10 billion transaction a little more than a year ago.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>It also came amid <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/lakers-12-5-billion-sale-comes-amid-mark-walter-federal-investigation\/\">a federal probe into Walter\u2019s business empire<\/a>, with the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly investigating how around $16 billion in loans from Walter-owned insurance companies ended up on the balance sheets of his TWG Global conglomerate (the group through which Walter bought the Lakers last June).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Stan Kasten, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, holds the World Series trophy after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 30, 2024.  <span class=\"credit\">Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Earlier Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that TWG Global had been <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/us-law-week\/lakers-owner-walter-seeks-cash-to-pay-down-loans-amid-doj-probe\">seeking fresh capital to reduce the loans<\/a> held by its insurance companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In an exclusive interview with the California Post later in the afternoon, Iger also revealed that \u201cit was suggested to us that maybe <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/bob-iger-reveals-details-of-lakers-purchase-its-extraordinary\/\">Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers<\/a>\u201d \u2013\u2013 though did not specify why.<\/p>\n<p>For many industry observers, it sparked speculation that Walter\u2019s sudden sale of the Lakers, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/12\/sports\/inside-lakers-12-billioin-sale-josh-kushner-bob-iger\/\">which came together in a matter of days this week<\/a>, was related to the ongoing investigation into his businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Some wondered if the Dodgers might also be in danger of being sold.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Walter\u2019s sale of the Lakers to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner shocked the sports world, given Walter had just bought the team in a $10 billion transaction a little more than a year ago. <span class=\"credit\">NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kasten, however, disputed those notions, describing the Lakers transaction as \u201copportunistic\u201d and \u201csomething that made sense\u201d in the eyes of Walter, who bought the Dodgers through his Guggenheim Baseball Management group (of which Kasten is also involved) for $2.15 billion back in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>Asked directly if there was a link between the Lakers\u2019 sale and the ongoing SEC investigation, Kasten doubled down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no reason to think that,\u201d he said. \u201cNo, that never came up. And Mark and I discussed it. So no, we don\u2019t have any reason to think that. I certainly have no reason to think that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kasten said he only learned of the impending Lakers sale on Tuesday, and was under the impression Walter \u201cwasn\u2019t contemplating\u201d any Lakers deal before being approached by Iger and Kushner, who is the founder and managing partner of venture capital firm Thrive Capital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he was surprised by it,\u201d Kasten said. \u201cThat\u2019s what he has expressed to me. Mark had no plan to do this. This just came up, and he thought about it and said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Cali - Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia&#8217;s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kasten did acknowledge that he had only limited information on specifics of the sale process (\u201cI can\u2019t tell you anyone\u2019s motivation, I can\u2019t speak to that,\u201d he said) and that he has no knowledge of the federal investigation into Walter\u2019s other businesses, outside of what has been reported publicly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat has nothing to do with the Dodgers either,\u201d Kasten said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t even been consulted on that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another question that arose in the wake of Wednesday\u2019s news was whether the Dodgers\u2019 vast financial resources \u2013\u2013 which have helped them construct league-record payrolls of more than $400 million, before luxury taxes, the last two seasons \u2013\u2013 could be impacted by the apparent uncertainty suddenly surrounding Walter\u2019s non-sports-related businesses.<\/p>\n<p>But Kasten was declarative in his answer to that, saying: \u201cI have no reason to think that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, he returned to his original point; that while the Lakers sale came as a surprise to those within the Dodgers organization, nothing about the baseball team\u2019s internal operations would be impacted, starting with Walter\u2019s status as owner and chairman of the team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a Lakers story,\u201d he repeated of Wednesday\u2019s news. \u201cSo there\u2019s no real shock on the Dodger side, except for people asking inevitable questions, to which I can give the only assurance that I can: That everything is the same here. No change at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hours after Wednesday\u2019s bombshell news that Dodgers owner Mark Walter was selling his majority stake in the Lakers at a record $12.5 billion valuation, Dodgers team president Stan Kasten was adamant that no changes were coming within the Dodgers organization. Kasten also confirmed that Walter has no plans to sell the baseball team. \u201cThis is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/newspress-collage-g7y3c0nrg-1786581474818.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1786567259&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}