A Lakers statement said MSG approached them about leaving Staples Center in '25, but nothing materializedNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The Lakers are "believed to be discussing an extension to their Staples Center lease" that currently runs through the '24-25 season, though not before team CEO & Controlling Owner Jeanie Buss discussed a "move that would have left" the venue without its marquee tenant, according to Nathan Fenno of the L.A. TIMES. Irving Azoff emailed Buss and Lakers Exec Dir of Special Projects Linda Rambis in June '17, writing, "Heres my dream. Rebuild the forum from scratch. Lakers plus music. boom." Buss responded a half-hour later, and said, "I think about the vision you and (wife) Shelli had when you re-imagined the Forum and how you made it happen. I believe you can do anything." Fenno noted the emails are among "tens of thousands of documents produced during discovery" in MSG Co.'s lawsuit against Inglewood in L.A. County Superior Court over the "potential Clippers arena." MSG, which owns the Forum, in a statement said it "approached the Lakers about the possibility of repurposing the Forum in the future to accommodate basketball once again, but ultimately nothing came of it." In the email thread with Azoff, Buss and Rambis, the three refer to Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer as "'Ballz' or 'Balls'," and "express shock about his plan to build an arena, and appear to mock the chances for success" (LATIMES.com, 3/14).
