The Lakers.

Like many team owners, it's a vanity business, something.

This is how you the bus family, makes a living.

This is your legacy for your Children and everything.

And yet you're that'll be faced with a massive 100 luxury tax bill.

How do you weigh that against the bus family's insane competitiveness and desire to put championship after championship team on the court for the City of LA?

Yeah, I mean, it's it's difficult with the loss of revenue due to no ticket sales, um, in the arena, Um, you know, we are in a a league that is dictated by a salary cap, a collective bargaining agreement.

So we have to abide by all those rules.

But, you know, the luxury tax is for teams that you know have championship aspirations.

And certainly that is something that we want to keep the Lakers at the top of the conversation.

And, um, you know, once LeBron James decided to join the Lakers, you know the way he's playing.

He doesn't seem like he's 36 years old, but when you have a player like LeBron James on your team, you gotta go for it.

You got to use that opportunity to, uh, to win.

So you know, we'll manage the cap just like every other team in the league has to do.

We play by the same rules.

Got to ask you how much time left do you think LeBron James has?

I mean, he looks like it's endless.

It looks like he can keep on going and going and going like a Duracell battery.

For crying out loud, I gotta ask you have you received any kind of indication where it's just gonna be a couple of years?

He just wants to get a solid 20 seasons in.

Or do you have this mentality that you know?

Excuse me?

He's giving you every indication he's gonna play for years to come.

What do you get from talking to LeBron James about about his future?

Well, you know, it's it is like a really good match.

Um, we we want him to stay around as long as he wants to stay around.

Uh, Kareem played till he was Kareem Abdul Jabbar play until he was 42.

Um, LeBron said something the other day about how he probably won't play when he's 46.

So maybe somewhere between, you know now and 46 so another 10 years somewhere, you know, whatever he wants to do.

Um, we love having him.

I have to say he drafted a really good All Star team yesterday, watching the 30 days he knows basketball.

He's competitive.

Uh, you know, it's just we're having a lot of fun having him around.

But the one thing that's missing are the fans.

Mhm now.

Jeannie, there's been some discussion about changing the league logo.

Why do you think that Kobe Bryant should be the new face of the NBA logo?

I think Kobe Bryant should be the face of every sports league.

Every every, You know, the Olympics.

I think that Kobe stood for everything that we aspire to in sports.

Hard work, perseverance, dedication.

Will the you know, the Mamba mentality.

I think he would be an icon fitting for for every everything involved in sports.

Why do you feel Jeannie?

You mentioned it earlier, and I've heard you talk about being the steward of the team as though it's a public trust.

The Lakers, even though it's privately owned, um, having lived in L.

A for six years that the Lakers are what make L.

A city before anything else.

Otherwise, it's a bunch of kind of vaguely sort of connected suburbs, But everyone socioeconomic race, age, gender doesn't matter.

Comes together.

You said under the purple and gold flag.

What responsibility and why do you feel the responsibility as though the Lakers are a public trust?

Um, you know that that came from my father.

It's It's about, uh, inclusion about everybody coming together and and doing great things.

And, you know, it's the Lakers have that ability.

It's a platform that's bigger than anyone.

Owner, anyone, player, anyone.

Coach, Um, it belongs to Laker Nation.

Uh, Laker Nation is, um, you know, the heartbeat of, you know, the Lakers and what it stands for, there'll be a lot around a lot longer than I'll be around.

And, uh, you know, this is my time to make sure and protect the brand and protect what our fans have come to expect from from the best family from this organization.

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