Johnson bought shares representing about 4.5 percent of the Lakers in June 1994 for a reported $10 million. Johnson said Monday’s sale was strictly a “bittersweet business decision,” but the five-time NBA champion has long been interested in taking a larger ownership role in a team.
“I thank (Lakers owner) Dr. (Jerry) Buss from the deepest part of my heart and soul for allowing me such an incredible opportunity,” Johnson said in a statement. “I want to assure all the wonderful and loyal Lakers fans that my decision will in no way affect my dedication and support for the Los Angeles Lakers. I am and will always be a Laker for life.”
Johnson spent his entire 13-year playing career with Los Angeles, including a 32-game comeback in 1996 nearly five years after his retirement. He has been a successful businessman since leaving the league, excelling in commercial real estate ventures including movie theaters, restaurants and health clubs.
Yet Johnson has ambitions that go beyond a 4.5 percent stake in a team, and realizing those ambitions would require him to sell his stake in the Lakers.
He expressed interest last month in taking a significant role in a group attempting to buy the Detroit Pistons led by Mike Ilitch, who also owns the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers. Ilitch’s group hasn’t publicly made any connection with Johnson.
Soon-Shiong is an innovative physician, a businessman, a philanthropist, a UCLA professor and a 25-year Lakers season ticket-holder. He founded two lucrative pharmaceutical companies: Abraxis BioScience, which was purchased by Celgene Corp. for $2.9 billion last week, and American Pharma Partners.
 

Meantime, the NBA’s new emphasis on respecting the game has led to a surge in technicals fouls in the preseason and growing annoyance from the NBA players association.
The league has been taking a no-nonsense approach to players merely stepping toward referees, being demonstrative, and even punching the air. Late Monday, Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh raised his arms skyward when a whistle blew, his way of telling referee Dick Bavetta that he didn’t foul anybody.
As far as outbursts go, it was weak, but it’ll cost Bosh $2,000.
“The emotion of the game can never be taken out of the game of basketball,” said two-time reigning MVP LeBron James. “And that’s when the fans, that’s when the real guys, and the people who are watching and who know the game of basketball will know there’s a problem with the game.
“This game has always been built on emotion. And if we try to take that out of the game, the fans won’t like it as much. And without the fans, there’s no game.”
Bosh could only smile after getting his technical. Charlotte’s Stephen Jackson had an incredulous look on his face after he drew a technical moments earlier in the same game, unsure why he was called for traveling. So Jackson ran to referee Rodney Mott, an absolute no-no by league decree this season.
“We’ve all got to make adjustments,” Jackson said. “I’ve just got to be smarter about what I say and what calls I want to talk about.”
Technically, the rules aren’t changing much.
The way they’re being enforced seems like the bigger change.
“I could understand if somebody was yelling, cursing, saying inappropriate things, OK, that’s the reason for a technical,” Bosh said. “They’re very quick to ‘T’ guys up. And I don’t want to give my money away. All I wanted to know is, I wanted to talk about the call. And that was it. And his main emphasis was, put your hands down.”
Never mind that the fine — which went up this season — will cost Bosh 0.000138 percent of his $14.5 million salary.
To Bosh, the bigger point was that he didn’t say anything inappropriate to Bavetta, and since he maintained his cool, he wondered why that would have prompted a second whistle.
“I’ve seen a couple of my teammates get technicals for, I’m not going to say nothing,” James said, “but really nothing.”