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Buss Sports Capital has joined Kwanza Jones and Jose E. Feliciano's San Diego Padres ownership group, Joey and Jesse Buss announced Wednesday. The longtime Los Angeles Lakers executives started the investment firm after their family sold its majority ownership share of the Lakers to billionaire businessman Mark Walter last year. The firm aims to identify acquisitions and partnerships across the global sports landscape. Joey and Jesse announced they will be on the new ownership group's advisory board and apply their experience with player development, payroll management and roster construction to support this new era in Padres franchise history.
"We are honored to join Kwanza and José and have the opportunity to contribute to the future of a team that Jesse and I have loved since we were kids growing up in San Diego," Joey Buss said in a statement. "Sports have always been a part of our family's story, and great organizations have a unique ability to bring people together and create a lasting sense of community. Padres fans have built one of the most passionate and loyal communities in all of sports, and we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to deepen that connection in San Diego and around the world. "The Padres are on the cusp of something special, and through Buss Sports Capital, we look forward to bringing our experience and perspective to the ownership group and doing our part to build on the strong foundation already in place."
Dave McMenamin: Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham is leading a players-run minicamp in San Diego this week, sources told ESPN. Should be a good way for Detroit to come together after the team’s first 60-win season in 20 years ended with a Game 7 loss in the second round vs. Cleveland.
Seattle and Las Vegas are already getting teams, so there’s nowhere else to go. First of all, the league is only exploring expansion. I assume it will come to fruition, but there are plenty of good reasons to pump the brakes, and some owners are going to remain unconvinced that it’s smart to further divide the pie with two more teams. Even if the cities of emeralds and sin get two teams, there are still plenty of large markets that want to get in the game. Nashville and Austin are the two most obvious. The proximity of Austin to San Antonio presents a challenge, but the easy geography and access to an exploding economy may be too much for the rest of the owners to ignore. If the door is even cracked slightly, you’d have to think the Dallas-bred Dundon would leap at the chance to get into his home state’s capital city. Beyond those two, though: Kansas City, San Diego and Vancouver, B.C. make varying degrees of sense. And don’t forget Silver’s desire to push the league into Mexico City someday. That likely won’t be via expansion if the league is sitting at 32 teams.
By Monday, Macdonald was back to the grind. Hockey, baseball, arena league football, surfing, volleyball — name it and Bill Macdonald called it. That night, a West Coast Conference basketball game between Portland and San Diego needed a broadcaster and Macdonald showed up at the Jenny Craig Pavilion — the “Slim Gym” — armed with stats about Portland’s Pooh Jeter and USD’s Ross DeRogatis. He’d spoken to the Sports Information Directors. He called the game that night, packed up and moved on to whatever pregame show or gymnastics meet was next. The Lakers gig, he thought, was a one-off. Twenty years later, before a Lakers game against the Trail Blazers in Portland, Macdonald started telling that story and Lantz cut him off. “When you walked in,” Lantz said with a grin, “they said, ‘Didn’t you do Kobe’s 81-point game last night?’”
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For years, Jimmy Butler has been one of the San Diego Wave’s most visible fans. Now, he’s a part-owner. Butler has joined the club’s ownership as an investor, the Wave announced Monday morning. The six-time NBA All-Star now with the Golden State Warriors is a Poway resident and longtime soccer fan. He was on hand Saturday, when the Wave set a franchise record for goals in a 6-1 win over the Chicago Stars at Snapdragon Stadium.
“Soccer has been a passion of mine for a long time, and being part of the game in a meaningful way has always been a dream,” Butler said. “San Diego has become a city close to my heart, and I’m proud to invest in a club that is pushing boundaries, building something lasting, and setting a new standard for what women’s sports can be both on and off the pitch.”
Jon Krawczynski: Tom Thibodeau visited Wolves camp for 2nd time this fall. First time was in San Diego. Finch: "He loves basketball and he’s going on his little circuit going around the country and had him in our meeting today, picking his brain about a bunch of stuff. Really enjoy his company."
Alessandro Luigi Maggi: 🚨 Virtus Bologna is close to sign Kai Jones, I am told. The Bahamian big man played 12 NBA games with the Mavs and 28 with the Clippers last season. In the G League, he averaged 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in 15 games with San Diego.
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The LA Clippers have signed wing Patrick Baldwin Jr. and guard TyTy Washington Jr. to training camp contract. Both Baldwin and Washington will go to camp with LA, then will likely join the San Diego Clippers of the G League. Baldwin played for both the Clippers and Washington Wizards last season. In 23 G League games, the 6-foot-9 wing averaged 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Washington spent last season on a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns. The 6-foot-3 point guard averaged 21.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 32 G League games.
Vinny Benedetto: The Nuggets just announced they will play a preseason game against the Timberwolves in San Diego on Oct. 4. Nuggets held training camp in San Diego in 2022 and 2023.
A fellow former two-way contract player, Izaiah Brockington wowed the crowd with his athleticism, drive-and-kick game, and shooting ability. The 6-foot-4 guard spent multiple seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans and their G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, before he was dealt to the San Diego Clippers. Brockington finished a strong season in the G League and suited up for the Vancouver Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League to follow.
Michael Scotto: The Golden State Warriors are converting Braxton Key to a standard NBA contract, sources told @hoopshype . Key averaged 16.5 points on 50.6% from the field, 8.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks in the G League for the San Diego Clippers and Santa Cruz Warriors.