Internet boards are alive with speculation George Shinn is selling the Hornets and the odds-on favorite to acquire them is none other than Steve Ballmer, CEO of Seattle's Microsoft.
According to a report from ESPN:
"George Shinn of owner of the Hornets has been listening to a lot of offers for the team. The lease is scheduled to end in 2010 if attendance trends continue the way they are. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is said to be the front runner to purchase the team and the NBA would back the move as they are already seeing revenue losses in the millions from the move to Oklahoma City."
I've been saying for months the OKC/NBA experiment would be a financial disaster and it's coming to fruition, just as common sense would dictate. The NBA had a great thing going in Seattle before the Bennett/Stern Blunder. Now their short-sighted foolishness is on display for everyone to see....especially the other owners.
Ballmer and his group should get right into the details of a new privately-funded multi-use arena. This is the kind of quality, big-picture ownership group that Seattle needs and deserves and who can get it done correctly this time.
This is, of course, merely speculation at this point. But it sure puts Seattle at the top of the list of destination cities for the NBA. Let's sit back and watch the show....and the Blunder losses pile up, both financially and on the court. Maybe Durant would want a second stint in the Jet City? The timing would be perfect.
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4 comments:
I sincerely doubt the Hornets are going anywhere. A year ago this type of speculation would have been justified, but not now. The Hornets are one of only 11 teams this season to have sold more than 10,000 season tickets. New Orleans and Portland had the biggest jump in season ticket sales from a year ago. Most teams in the NBA would love to have the kind of support that the Hornets are getting.
By the way, any chance of a link to that ESPN article? I'd like to read the whole thing. Thanks.
I sincerely hope you are right I disagree completely with franchise relocation except under the most dire situations. The current NBA model is crumbling and this, coupled with poor ownerships groups, produces the potential for these moves. ESPN redacted the article and then took it down. It culd just be a teaser to gage reactions and to thrust ballmer into the potential-owner spotlight. I like the Hornets and love N.O. - I was just there for the LSU/UGA game. Would love to see the Hornets win it all. I don't want to see them move - but if it becomes an inevitability, it would make the most sense to go to an established market.
Thanks for the response. Much appreciated.
The "ESPN" Report on the Hornets is bogus and the blog writer of this site made it up. It is no where to be found anywhere on the net. I think the author started the rumor on www.sonicscentral.com and is just looking for attention and a little traffic on the site. Give it up dude!!
Sonics Man
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