Hornets co-owner Gary Chouest withdrew his offer to purchase George Shinn's majority share of the franchise, sources said Friday night, and the NBA may step in and buy the team.
If they do, the Hornets would be the first franchise owned and operated by the league.
I think this is a big deal for the NBA and it may affect MIN.
I understand there is a potential work stoppage next year, but I think this is the first time that the NBA couldn't find a buyer for a team when an owner wanted out. Like I said last year, there just aren't enough Russian billionaire NBA fanatics to go around. Several teams are for sale, to one degree or another (NOH, ATL, MEM, DET spring to mind). Moreover, many owners don't mind losing money thinking that the investment as a whole will rise. However, if we've gotten to the point that there aren't buyers, this will certainly affect the value of those assets .. particularly ones that don't make money.
What could we see?
1. Contraction? David Stern mentioned contraction before initial CBA discussions, but the Players Association said it was just a negotiating ploy. Contraction has all sorts of implication for the Wolves, including:
a. Redistribution Draft. (Who gets Chris Paul? How is the draft order set? Owed picks?)
b. Realignment of the Conferences (I'd love to play MIL).
2. Teams on the move? (see 1b). SEA should have a franchise. MEM, NOH are micro-markets, and UTA, SAS, and OKC better maintain their winning and financial solvency because they are tiny too.
3. Current Teams Become more Cost-Driven? If an owner can't just assume they can sell the team if things get bad financially, then they need to limit their losses. In general, most owners are willing to sustain some financial losses if their total payroll is under the lux. Will it stay that way? Will we see a frugal owner like LAC's Donald Sterling see if his bottom lines are better with a $40 mil team?
MIN is actually in a good spot here. The Twin City area is around Number 15 in the nation, and we have an inexpensive team. Our biggest asset may be Glen Taylor, who is a rich owner, deeply connected to the Twin Cities, and he was just unanimously re-elected to lead the NBA's Board of Governors. However, several other teams may be in for problems, and the Wolves may be able to use their advantages to add talent to our roster.
Next year's CBA will undoubtedly contain provisions to help protect owners, but when the league starts having to take over teams because they can't find a buyer .. things look bad.
Thoughts?
