Blazers are officially for sale

[Norm2953]

We're all hopeful whoever the new owner is will be a sports enthusiast but $10 Billion for the Lakers is a big
number. Blazers will be lucky to be sold for a third of that

Windhorst said that the entity buying the Lakers is backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. NBA is not suppose to allow sovereign wealth funds to buy a controlling interest in a team.

This guy Walter is just a front man for oil money it appears.

I thought foreign entities are entitled to purchase a minority interest in a team, perhaps 20%

I'm wondering if Portland or perhaps an expansion team in Seattle would have a minority Asian investor in the end

[DusterBuster]

Some actual rumors on this front from the latest Simmons podcast with Lowe today....

Zach Lowe asked Simmons if he's heard anything about the Blazer sale as he found it weird chatter around the league has been soooo quiet regarding something that big. He asked Simmons if he had heard anything since he's connected in with the owners more than most media guys, and if he has heard anything, what can he say about it publicly. This is around 1hr:14min mark of the pod.

Simmons said "I heard there's 'a guy' and I heard it's going to go for over 4, those are the only two things I've heard". He went on to say that while the consensus is mid-3 billion, it will likely go higher because of how few teams are for sale. When laying out his example for why it will go higher, he said the only other options outside of Portland is maybe a powerplay for New Orleans, than move that team to Seattle / Vegas or there's just a surprise Bulls sale by the Reinsdorf's, Portland's the only clear option right now that's not a left-field surprise. Also he never mentioned Portland being possible of that Seattle / Vegas move, that only in connection with NO.

Zach followed up trying to pry more info about WHO the buyer might be, he asked "is the guy someone who already knows 'I'm not getting Vegas or Seattle when those things happen, is it someone in that pool potentially". Simmons flatly said "I don't think it is, that isn't the name I heard - that I'm not going to say".

Zach also pushing hard that if any city should lose their team and move to Seattle or Vegas because expansion is off the table now due to James Dolan, it should be the the Pelicans.

They finished up their Blazer talk on the pod with Simmons saying "conspiracy Bill was activated" around the Blazers summer moves of Yang and Dame. He didn't say he didn't like the Dame move, but found it all very convenient timing with this and all the Chinese money from that market and why the Blazers were so motivated to get him.

[Walton1one]

Matches some of the chatter coming from John Hollinger. So, a front office making moves not for the betterment of the team but to increase value for a sale or entice a certain type of owner.

[PDXKnight]

Some actual rumors on this front from the latest Simmons podcast with Lowe today....

Zach Lowe asked Simmons if he's heard anything about the Blazer sale as he found it weird chatter around the league has been soooo quiet regarding something that big. He asked Simmons if he had heard anything since he's connected in with the owners more than most media guys, and if he has heard anything, what can he say about it publicly. This is around 1hr:14min mark of the pod.

Simmons said "I heard there's 'a guy' and I heard it's going to go for over 4, those are the only two things I've heard". He went on to say that while the consensus is mid-3 billion, it will likely go higher because of how few teams are for sale. When laying out his example for why it will go higher, he said the only other options outside of Portland is maybe a powerplay for New Orleans, than move that team to Seattle / Vegas or there's just a surprise Bulls sale by the Reinsdorf's, Portland's the only clear option right now that's not a left-field surprise. Also he never mentioned Portland being possible of that Seattle / Vegas move, that only in connection with NO.

Zach followed up trying to pry more info about WHO the buyer might be, he asked "is the guy someone who already knows 'I'm not getting Vegas or Seattle when those things happen, is it someone in that pool potentially". Simmons flatly said "I don't think it is, that isn't the name I heard - that I'm not going to say".

Zach also pushing hard that if any city should lose their team and move to Seattle or Vegas because expansion is off the table now due to James Dolan, it should be the the Pelicans.

They finished up their Blazer talk on the pod with Simmons saying "conspiracy Bill was activated" around the Blazers summer moves of Yang and Dame. He didn't say he didn't like the Dame move, but found it all very convenient timing with this and all the Chinese money from that market and why the Blazers were so motivated to get him.

Not exactly a ray of optimism on team staying in pdx. Im sure NBA is salivating over Vegas regardless of who gets burned.

[DusterBuster]

Not exactly a ray of optimism on team staying in pdx. Im sure NBA is salivating over Vegas regardless of who gets burned

If you listen to the pod, you won’t come away with that opinion.

The sense I got from Simmons while trying to read between the leaves the Portland sale is to keep the team here. If Seattle or Vegas get a team without expansion, it’ll probably be from a market that isn’t historically supportive of their franchise like the Pelicans.

[PDXKnight]

Not exactly a ray of optimism on team staying in pdx. Im sure NBA is salivating over Vegas regardless of who gets burned

If you listen to the pod, you won’t come away with that opinion.

Are you volunteering to babysit my wiley toddlers while I listen?

[DusterBuster]

Not exactly a ray of optimism on team staying in pdx. Im sure NBA is salivating over Vegas regardless of who gets burned

If you listen to the pod, you won’t come away with that opinion.

Are you volunteering to babysit my wiley toddlers while I listen?

As someone only a could years out from the toggles years, single Bluetooth earbuds are the way to go.