Genuine question: Is the Buss family really out of the Los Angeles Lakers? Well, not so fast. NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the family had “decided” to sell its remaining 17.8% stake to incoming majority owners Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger, a move that could force Jeanie Buss out as the Lakers’ governor. But now, Jeanie’s attorney is pushing back, challenging nearly every key detail of the reported vote.

Jeanie’s attorney, Adam Streisand, has called this the “latest instance of a years-long pattern” where Joey and Jesse Buss “leak false, defamatory and pernicious ‘information'” to Charania “for the malicious purpose of doing harm” to Jeanie’s reputation at the Purple and Gold.

Streisand clarified that the reporting about a collective vote taking place is “void,” also insisting that Jeanie remains the Lakers’ controlling owner and “carries out her father’s wishes.” Here’s the basis behind the legal argument.

Why Jeanie Buss says the vote is invalid

The letter’s reasoning centers on the Jo Ann C. Buss 2006 Children’s Electing Small Business Trust, commonly known as the JAB Trust. According to Streisand, the trust and a 2017 Los Angeles Superior Court order require its co-trustees to “take all actions” to ensure Jeanie remains the Lakers’ controlling owner (on an annual basis) during her lifetime, unless a court later modifies the order.

“The Order remains in full force and effect,” Jeanie’s attorney wrote. “There has never been a modification of the Trust. No effort has ever been made to justify to the Court that there are circumstances for modifying the Trust, and there are no circumstances that could be proven to justify any modification.”

Jeanie’s lawyer ended his letter to the Buss siblings’ attorneys, including Jason Kahout, Xochitl Cortez, and Ryan J. Barncastle, with a clear demand.

“On behalf of Jeanie Buss, I demand that your clients make clear publicly that Jeanie Buss is the Controlling Owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and that your clients shall take no action on this supposed “vote” to sell the 17.8% stake.”

Why does the 17.8% stake matter so much?

The Buss family sold a majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter last year at a then-record $10 billion valuation, while retaining the 17.8% stake that allowed Jeanie to remain the team’s governor through 2030. That stake is important when Walter unexpectedly agreed last week to sell his controlling interest to a group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner at a $12.5 billion valuation.

Just before the sale became public, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that Lakers senior VP of finance, Joe McCormack, called for an “emergency meeting” last Monday to discuss “a dissolution of the family trust and seek unanimous approval to lock down all family shares for four years under a new trust.”

Then the very next day, Walter’s unexpected agreement to sell the team to Iger and Kushner surfaced the very next day… The new owners are buying 65% of the franchise, and if the Buss report was true, Kushner and Iger would then own 83%

According to ESPN, the Buss Family Trust then decided, “as a family,” to sell its remaining shares to the newcomers.

Charania said the Buss family trust (Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey, and Jesse) received “majority votes” to allow trustees to execute the sale. Four of six votes are required for anything to happen. Charania’s report clarified that “at least five of the six siblings voted to sell.”

Those votes were apparently tied to a “tag-along” right, which allows minority investors to sell their interest when control of a franchise changes hands.

“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement to ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans, and will continue to support Los Angeles, but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

If the Buss family’s stake is also sold, however, Jeanie would fall below the NBA’s 15% ownership requirement for governors.

“Once the transaction is completed, Jeanie Buss will no longer have the needed ownership percentage to remain governor because NBA guidelines require controlling owners/governors to own at least 15% of a franchise,” Charania wrote.

And that is exactly where the legal dispute comes in. Charania reported that the family voted to sell the stake, while Jeanie’s legal team says the vote cannot force the sale or remove her as controlling owner.

Confused? Don’t worry, there’s a strong backstory to this, with frustrations in the Buss family lingering for a long time.

The Buss family drama behind the Lakers’ ownership battle

Jerry Buss’ succession plan before his 2013 death was for Jeanie to become the Lakers’ governor and run the franchise. More than a decade ago, Jeanie told reporter Mark Medina that she could never imagine selling the Lakers because her “father had worked very hard to be in the position,” so that their family could keep the team forever. She confirmed that she was wholly committed to maintaining control of things. But four years after Jeanie took over as governor, cracks started to surface.

Tensions surfaced after she fired Jim as the franchise’s head of basketball operations after being dissatisfied with how he handled the team’s roster during arguably its worst stretch. Jeanie reportedly also took that harsh measure after sensing an internal coup to remove her as Governor.

Then tension in the family resurfaced when the siblings agreed to sell their controlling stake to Mark Walter. Sources close to the matter told ESPN that not every sibling was happy with the decision, saying they felt “misled” and “pressured” to vote in favor of the sale.

Crucially, that agreement allowed Jeanie to remain the Lakers’ governor through 2030. Although the other siblings did not receive the same future with the franchise, each of them pocketed half a billion dollars after taxes.

Soon after Mark Walter entered the building, Jeanie also made sure to move Joey and Jesse out of their respective G League and scouting roles as part of a major front office restructuring effort in LA.

Jesse later said that he and Joey had been “pushed to the sidelines for well over two years” and that, while their removal was disappointing, it was “not entirely unexpected.”

“Still, it’s incredibly hard to see our time with the Lakers end this way. We grew up in this organization – learning the game, the business, and the responsibility of stewardship directly from our father,” Jesse Buss wrote in an emailed statement to Front Office Sports.

Joey and Jesse have since launched their own investment firm, Buss Sports Capital, which also has been linked to a plausible NBA Europe franchise.

The Lakers’ ownership battle has now become a family and legal dispute. Representatives for Joey and Jesse Buss and the NBA declined to comment, while representatives for Jeanie Buss and the Lakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.