Less than a year after officially purchasing the Los Angeles Lakers, Mark Walter has sold his stake in the team to a group led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Bob Iger, the former CEO of Disney.
The move came as a surprise to many, but a little digging on Walter’s financial situation shows that there may be a lot more to the sale than meets the eye.
Bill Simmons Believes Former Lakers Owner Mark Walter ‘Might Actually Go to Jail’
The sale of the team by Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, has led longtime basketball analyst Bill Simmons to question whether the billionaire businessman may be heading toward jail time.
There have been rumors that Walter is facing a federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the SEC regarding approximately $21 billion in undisclosed related-party loans. The accusations are reportedly under investigation, and no formal charges have been filed.
“It’s starting to seem like he might actually go to jail,” Simmons said on Tuesday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “He’s already shed himself of the Lakers. He’s selling his Chelsea stake reportedly right now, which was like 12.5%, and my guess is the Dodgers are gonna be next.”
“It’s starting to seem like he might actually go to jail.”@BillSimmons and @SammyKoppelman on why the Mark Walter situation is looking more and more sketchy. pic.twitter.com/zWZCdW0bsu
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 18, 2026
As for the Lakers, there is a “belief around the NBA that the team cannot complete the buildout of its basketball operations department until the ownership situation is resolved,” as reported by The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
Per Woike’s story, “players are preparing for the season, employees are facing uncertainty, and front-office plans remain unsettled as the organization waits for clarity.”
Obviously, that spells trouble for the Lakers as they enter their post-LeBron James future.
Simmons then questioned whether you could compare Walter to Bernie Madoff and Ivan Frederick Boesky, two famed convicted financial criminals, and asked whether Walter would be pleading guilty any time soon.
Entrepreneur and author Sam Koppelman responded that the Trump administration has taken it easy on billionaires, not “putting many away,” which may influence what happens with Walter.
Walter recently met with the president when the Dodgers visited the White House a few weeks back. However, Koppelman acknowledged there could be big issues:
“I don’t think there’s a single safe asset in the entire Mark Walter cinematic universe,” Koppelman said. “I think it’s potentially all for sale, and I do think the Dodgers being sold, I think all of this is on the table.”
Simmons said that if Walter does sell the Dodgers, that would be extremely telling. They have an enormous payroll, easily the MLB’s largest, have won each of the last two World Series, and seemingly remain the favorite once again this season.
Simmons also explained that the connection with the Dodgers and Chelsea means this could be a situation much bigger than the Lakers and could even affect the entire MLB, with a potential lockout looming next season.
It doesn’t seem like Walter will actually face jail time, but his selling off of his assets is very telling; the possibility certainly still exists.
It will be interesting to see what charges Walter potentially faces and whether the Lakers can rebound from another troubling event.
