5. Stay out of the way
Walter doesn’t appear often at Dodger Stadium. He rarely speaks to the media. He kept brief his remarks at the White House earlier this year. He tends not to meddle in baseball decisions, trusting the expertise of Friedman, Kasten and general manager Brandon Gomes. In this way, he represents the ideal of an owner, a man with deep pockets and plenty of trust for his staff.
Said Roberts: “I think a good owner in my eyes is a person that lets the people that he hires do their jobs.”
Walter does that. But he can also afford a hands-off approach because the club has not stopped winning. Friedman is generally considered by his peers to be the sharpest executive in the sport, with his front office capturing top honors in The Athletic’s annual poll for the second straight year. The combination of Friedman’s ingenuity and Walter’s stability appealed to Ohtani, who added a “key man” clause into his contract, which would allow him to enter free agency if either Friedman or Walter leaves the organization during the 10 years of the deal.
“Everybody has to be on the same page in order to have a winning organization,” Ohtani said at the time. “I feel like those two are at the top of it, and they’re in control of everything, and I feel almost like I’m having a contract with those two guys.”
So will the Lakers receive the same treatment from Walter? Will he afford the same autonomy to Pelinka and Redick? Time will tell. But there is reason to believe Walter’s priorities with his basketball team will be the same as the priorities with his baseball team. He wants to win.
The Athletic – How will Mark Walter impact the Lakers? Here are 5 key tenets of his Dodgers reign
When I started the Kings, I was told there were a quarter-million ex-Canadians in L.A. Now I know why they left Canada. They hate hockey.
Jack Kent Cooke
Phil has a question:
How many NBA free agents and their agents woke up smiling this morning.
With the Lakers needing a centre to go with Luka how worried are Pacer fans about losing Turner.
When will the NHL owners wise up and get rid of that useless piece of shit Gary Bettman.
If Mark Carney wants to be a hero why doesn’t he declare the NHL salary cap an illegal restraint of trade for the Canadian teams.
The Ringer – Five Immediate Questions About the Surprise Sale of the Lakers
ESPN – Kevin Pelton – NBA free agent rankings: Futures of LeBron, Turner, more stars
ESPN – Shams Charania – Buss family to sell Lakers to Mark Walter for $10B valuation
Front Office Sports – Daniel Roberts – Lakers Sale Stunner: 3 Rapid Reactions
TSN – CP – After a whopping sale, Lakers will no longer be the Buss family business
The Ringer – Katie Baker – The Knicks’ Coaching Search Reeks of Hot Midtown Garbage
Phil has a question:
Does James Dolan and the jerk who owns the Cowboys understand rule No. 5.
Never knowingly be serious.
Dr. Who Rule No. 27
The louder the music, the less helpful the sales staff.
Esquire Style Rule No. 5
The Ringer – Michael Pina – Cooper Flagg for Giannis? Even Nico Harrison Wouldn’t Do That.
Inexplicably, the NBA lottery gods handed the Mavs another franchise-altering talent. What they’ll do next is anyone’s guess.
The Ringer – Danny Chau – The Dallas Mavericks Tumbled Into a Miracle With Cooper Flagg
Phil has a question:
Was JR in charge of the lottery draft.
Does JR have the concession for Flagg No. 1 Dallas Maverick jerseys.
When will Jason Kidd’s feet touch the ground again.
ESPN – Why Perk Strongly Disagrees With Mavs Trading No. 1 Pick
ESPN – Tim MacMahon – Sources: Mavericks plan to draft Cooper Flagg, won’t trade No. 1 pick
“Defense wins championships,” Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison has repeatedly said since trading Dončić.
But many believed the Mavericks were banking on a core that is old and injury-riddled, as Davis and Irving both have extensive injury histories. The 18-year-old Flagg joins a team that will immediately contend for a playoff spot and gives the franchise a path to win after the older core has run its course, similar to Dončić.
Trading the 25-year-old Dončić less than a year after he led the franchise to the NBA Finals led to a fan revolt the likes of which Dallas hasn’t seen in years. Harrison received death threats, Mavericks season tickets were cancelled, and fans rioted in the streets over the deal. Now Harrison has another generational star fall into his lap.
Incredible. Three months after trading Luka Doncic, the Mavs are riding high again. Three months of pain—self-inflicted pain, it should be noted, caused by Dallas GM Nico Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic for a puzzlingly light package—has given way to hope. When the drawing was over, Riccardi pocketed the winning combination—10, 14, 11, 7—and peeled back an owl sticker, a lucky charm he borrowed from his 13-month-old son, Lio. “Amazing,” Riccardi said. Indeed. Last month, Dallas was a play-in team facing an uncertain future. On Monday, they watched a championship window open.
Phil has a question:
Did that really just happen.
How could the basketball gods commit such poetic injustice or were the basketball gods showing mercy to the Dallas Maverick fans for having such chintzy fucking owners or were the basketball gods pissing on the teams that were deliberately tanking.
Will drafting Flagg make the Mavericks fans forget about their GM, Nico Harrison, gutting their team with the Luka Doncic trade when the owners wouldn’t open up their wallets to keep Luka.
Will the fucking chintzy owners of the Mavs open up their wallets when it’s time to pay Flagg or will he be in Laker country in a few years.
Who is happier – the Mavericks in getting Flagg or Flagg in going to a team that is not a bottom feeding scum sucker.
Dallas Mavericks
You’re going to have to give me a minute, because I still … I still just … what just happened? I just tried to touch a mirror like Neo to confirm that we aren’t actually in a simulation. But what fucking simulation would choose this? Even the machines would know this is too insane to believe! Here’s something even crazier: Flagg fits everywhere, but he really fits what the Mavs are doing by prioritizing size and defense.
The Ringer – The Ringer’s 2025 NBA Draft Guide
The Score – Joe Wolfond – Did the Mavericks curse themselves?
The Ringer – Danny Chau – The Dallas Mavericks Are Now a Full-Blown Disaster Movie
The New Yorker – Louisa Thomas – The Tragedy and Farce of Luka Dončić’s Trade
I had only one superstition. I made sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run.
Babe Ruth
The Ringer – Joel Anderson – How the Mavericks Betrayed Their Past With the Luka Trade
You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.
Yogi Berra
It is not April 1, 2025 and this is not a fake news channel like Fox.
Garden And Gun – Grace Roberts – These Southern States Do Groundhog Day a Little Differently
New York Times – Tania Ganguli – Doncic Trade Has Mavericks Fans Feeling They ‘Lost a Family Member’
The Ringer – Michael Beck – The Luka Trade Leaves NBA Execs Baffled: “The Return Sucks”
Sports Business Journal – Mavs GM: No plans to move team to Las Vegas
Phil has a question:
Would Mark Cuban have traded Luka Doncic.
The Ringer – Rob Mahoney – Luka Doncic Is a Los Angeles Laker, (Un)explained
When Peter Puck traded sold Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings it was all about the money. Are the Mavericks in as bad a financial state as Peter Puck was.
The Ringer – Michael Pina – The Luka Doncic Trade Is the Dumbest NBA Move I’ve Ever Seen
The Ringer – Zack Kram – The Luka Doncic–Anthony Davis Trade Is an All-Time NBA Shocker
Sports – Business Journal – Mavs fans hold ‘funeral’ to protest Doncic trade
ESPN – Dave McMenamin – Sources: Mavericks trading Doncic to Lakers for Anthony Davis
ESPN – Jamal Collier – Sources: De’Aaron Fox to Spurs, Zach LaVine to Kings in 3-team trade
ESPN – Kevin Pelton – Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade grades: Winners, losers, what’s next
Sports Illustrated – Chris Mannix – Luka Doncic Trade to Lakers Is Most Shocking in NBA History
Phil M. Stockmen
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