Re: NBA News
Michael Jordan interested in buying Bobcats
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—The Charlotte Bobcats are for sale and Michael Jordan is interested.
First, he has to put an ownership group together.
Addressing the issue on Thursday night for the first time since the news last month that majority owner Bob Johnson is seeking to sell, Jordan shied away from going into detail about his plans. But Jordan, who holds a minority stake in the team and runs basketball operations, made it clear he’d like to gain majority control.
“I would like to put together a team to do that, yeah,” Jordan said.
Jordan then quickly turned the attention back to his selection of Gerald Henderson of Duke with the 12th pick in the NBA draft and didn’t take further questions on the ownership issue.
It remains unclear if Jordan is close to securing the investors and money needed to buy the team, for which Johnson paid $300 million.
Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, became the first black majority owner of a major professional sports team when he was awarded the expansion team in 2003.
But the club, which began play in 2004-05 season, has struggled to sell tickets and sponsorships and Johnson has lost millions.
Johnson is using a New York-based sports financial services firm in hopes of either securing more investors or selling the team outright.
Jordan’s star quality in his home state could help boost the franchise, but it’s uncertain if he could agree with Johnson on a price.
Forbes magazine recently valued the team at $284 million, less than Johnson’s expansion fee. The team plays in a city hard hit by the financial crisis, and the credit crunch could hurt any deal of that magnitude.
However, the team also keeps all profits from the downtown Charlotte arena it operates and the Bobcats have improved on the court. Jordan hired Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown last year and he guided the Bobcats to a 35-47 record, the best in the franchise’s five seasons.
-
Re: NBA News
Cavs land Shaq for Wallace, Pavlovic
The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement in principle to acquire Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal(notes), multiple sources involved in the talks told Yahoo! Sports late Thursday night.
Cleveland will send Ben Wallace(notes), Sasha Pavlovic(notes), the 46th pick in Thursday’s draft and cash to the Suns for O’Neal.
Cleveland and Phoenix were both juggling multiple trade possibilities with other teams, with the Cavs involved with as many as six trade scenarios.
Yet the disappointing Eastern Conference finals loss to the Orlando Magic left Cavs GM Danny Ferry with incredible pressure to accumulate talent around James in the final season prior to his 2010 free agency. James has blessed the O’Neal trade, especially because it should give his overmatched frontline a chance to compete with Dwight Howard in the playoffs. Ferry and Phoenix GM Steve Kerr are close friends and had talked off and on about a Shaq deal since the February trade deadline.
O’Neal, 37, makes $21 million next season, and the Suns were determined to move him in a package that would save them money. Wallace made $14 million and could take a buyout to retire, and only $1.5 million of Pavlovic’s $4.9 million salary is guaranteed.
Leave a comment:
-
Re: NBA News
Spurs trade for Bucks’ Jefferson
The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to acquire Richard Jefferson(notes) from the Milwaukee Bucks, league executives told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday.
The deal, first reported by Yahoo! Sports, has the Spurs sending veterans Bruce Bowen(notes), Kurt Thomas(notes) and Fabricio Oberto(notes) to the Bucks, who are looking to shed the remaining two years, $29.2 million on Jefferson’s contract for the Spurs’ expiring contracts. The contracts of Bowen and Oberto are only partially guaranteed for a total of $3.9 million for next season.
The Bucks later dealt Oberto to the Detroit Pistons for forward Amir Johnson.
Jefferson is the athletic, scoring forward whom Spurs have craved to complement the aging tandem of Tim Duncan(notes) and Manu Ginobili(notes). The Spurs had been pursuing the New Jersey Nets’ Vince Carter(notes), but the Jefferson is the deal they could do now.
After arriving in Milwaukee last summer from New Jersey, Jefferson averaged 19.6 points for the Bucks last season.
Bowen, 38, has been a staple of the past three Spurs championships and one of the NBA’s most dogged defenders.
Leave a comment:
-
NBA News
Celtics shop Rondo, Allen
The Boston Celtics appear willing to make major roster changes to balance a chance for a championship run and future financial flexibility.
The Celtics offered Ray Allen(notes) and Rajon Rondo(notes) to the Detroit Pistons for a package that included Richard Hamilton(notes), Tayshaun Prince(notes) and Rodney Stuckey(notes), league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Boston general manager Danny Ainge and Detroit’s Joe Dumars never spoke, but rather the Celtics had a lower-level executive make the pitch to a Pistons official over the past weekend, league sources said. Detroit immediately rejected the idea, and it never advanced to the two top executives speaking about particulars.
This isn’t an uncommon occurrence for a GM like Ainge to dispatch an underling to make that kind of a call, if for no other reason to give the top executive some level of deniability that he’s shopping his stars.
This isn’t the first time that Allen, a six-time All-Star, has been mentioned in trade talks this summer. Allen, who will soon turn 34, has an expiring contract of nearly $20 million, for next season. Rondo, 24, a rapidly developing point guard, has been publically termed off-limits by Ainge in trade discussion this summer. Nevertheless, his name found a way into this conversation. Rondo averaged 11.9 points, 8.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds in the regular season, and had three triple-doubles in the Celtics’ playoff run this season.
Boston is unlikely to re-sign Allen to a long-term extension next summer, and there is belief around the league that the Celtics have hesitancy about committing a long-term, expensive contract to Rondo.
There has been some friction with Rondo, largely based on maturity. No issues with him are insurmountable, but Ainge has never minded shopping ideas around the league. Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine a deal that Boston could do with these two players that would give them a chance to stay a championship contender around Kevin Garnett(notes) and Paul Pierce(notes).
For the Pistons, this deal makes little sense, unless they wanted to let Allen’s expiring deal gain even more salary cap space for the free-agent class of 2010. The idea of trading his three best returners for an expiring contract and one good young player wasn’t worth considering for Dumars, sources said.
Leave a comment: