ducks
06-04-2006, 11:42 PM
Griz ownership will be a hot topic this summer
June 4, 2006
The Grizzlies wrapped up another round of draft workouts last week, as Mike Fratello and Jerry West looked on from courtside.
Tony Barone talked about the prospects after the workouts were done. It was business as usual.
Except for this nuance, of course: Any day, the group headed by Brian Davis and Christian Laettner could stack its money in a big ol' pile and make an offer to buy the Grizzlies.
Then West could be fired, the payroll could be cut and so much for business as usual.
Not long ago, Steve Sallion, another member of the Davis/Laettner group, was quoted on local television as saying they "had the money" to make an offer.
That's not true, of course. If the investors had the money, they would have made the offer already.
But Davis and Laettner haven't gone away, and haven't given up their quest to purchase the local NBA team. Michael Heisley sure hasn't given up his willingness to sell it.
If FedExForum were a house, there would be a sign in the front lawn and an advertisement in the classifieds.
"For Sale: Charming NBA team in need of some TLC. Loses $40 million a year, but the guys in the locker room all like each other. Asking price: Too much. But, hey, we only need one sucker."
Davis and Laettner are the suckers in question, and at this point -- at least until we hear from them -- it's hard to see their bid as good news for Memphis sports fans.
Not that Heisley and his lawyer, Stan Meadows, are perfect or anything. They did a marvelous job luring West out of retirement and developing the FedExForum.
They also alienated important segments of the community, ordered ticket-price increases that helped produce this season's decline in attendance, and took quick cash deals that will weaken the franchise over time.
The most obvious example is the FedEx naming rights deal, which was supposed to provide the team with $90 million over 20 years. Heisley sold that contract for cash. So whoever buys the team won't have the FedEx money to help pay players and keep the lights on.
That was the surest hint Heisley might not be here for the long haul. He's been actively shopping the team -- through Meadows -- for more than a year now.
And that's fine. A new ownership group might bring some new enthusiasm and ideas to the operation.
More than anything else, the Grizzlies need owners and operators who believe in the possibilities of the franchise.
The current bunch would never say this publicly, but they've lost faith in Memphis and the city's ability to support an NBA team.
Is it possible they're right?
Certainly.
But if the franchise has any shot at making it, it needs owners who believe in the enterprise.
Do Davis and Laettner fit the description? It's impossible to say at this point. They're not returning phone calls. They haven't answered any of the central questions:
1. How do you plan to succeed financially where Heisley has failed?
2. Heisley has said the team suffers because he's not a local owner. Wouldn't that apply to you, too?
3. What connections have you made in Memphis, anyway? We know you have big investors in New York and in Houston. Anyone from Memphis?
4. Would West stay as president of basketball operations? Word is you're eager to get rid of the Logo and his salary. Any truth to that?
5. Why would you pay roughly $300 million for the majority share of a team that continues to lose a staggering amount of money? Won't the inflated price almost require you to slash payroll?
This last question is particularly important to the long-term future of the team. Heisley is asking an extraordinary sum of money for a tenuous, money-losing franchise. By agreeing to pay it, Davis and Laettner would seem to be setting themselves up to fail. They'd also be pricing out Pitt Hyde, Staley Cates and the local ownership group, which can't be seen as a good thing for Memphis.
Hyde, Cates and the rest still have a right of refusal to buy the team. That is, if Heisley and Meadows get an offer, the local group can acquire the team by matching it.
Logic suggests the local group would match any reasonable offer. But at the numbers being thrown around now?
Not likely.
That could leave Davis and Laettner, two strangers, in charge of our civic enterprise. Or it could leave Heisley, hanging onto the team for another year even after he's decided to sell it.
Nobody knows, at this point. So the basketball staff slogs on with its workouts.
"We're going to be prepared," said Barone.
This summer, for anything.
To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or send an e-mail.
June 4, 2006
The Grizzlies wrapped up another round of draft workouts last week, as Mike Fratello and Jerry West looked on from courtside.
Tony Barone talked about the prospects after the workouts were done. It was business as usual.
Except for this nuance, of course: Any day, the group headed by Brian Davis and Christian Laettner could stack its money in a big ol' pile and make an offer to buy the Grizzlies.
Then West could be fired, the payroll could be cut and so much for business as usual.
Not long ago, Steve Sallion, another member of the Davis/Laettner group, was quoted on local television as saying they "had the money" to make an offer.
That's not true, of course. If the investors had the money, they would have made the offer already.
But Davis and Laettner haven't gone away, and haven't given up their quest to purchase the local NBA team. Michael Heisley sure hasn't given up his willingness to sell it.
If FedExForum were a house, there would be a sign in the front lawn and an advertisement in the classifieds.
"For Sale: Charming NBA team in need of some TLC. Loses $40 million a year, but the guys in the locker room all like each other. Asking price: Too much. But, hey, we only need one sucker."
Davis and Laettner are the suckers in question, and at this point -- at least until we hear from them -- it's hard to see their bid as good news for Memphis sports fans.
Not that Heisley and his lawyer, Stan Meadows, are perfect or anything. They did a marvelous job luring West out of retirement and developing the FedExForum.
They also alienated important segments of the community, ordered ticket-price increases that helped produce this season's decline in attendance, and took quick cash deals that will weaken the franchise over time.
The most obvious example is the FedEx naming rights deal, which was supposed to provide the team with $90 million over 20 years. Heisley sold that contract for cash. So whoever buys the team won't have the FedEx money to help pay players and keep the lights on.
That was the surest hint Heisley might not be here for the long haul. He's been actively shopping the team -- through Meadows -- for more than a year now.
And that's fine. A new ownership group might bring some new enthusiasm and ideas to the operation.
More than anything else, the Grizzlies need owners and operators who believe in the possibilities of the franchise.
The current bunch would never say this publicly, but they've lost faith in Memphis and the city's ability to support an NBA team.
Is it possible they're right?
Certainly.
But if the franchise has any shot at making it, it needs owners who believe in the enterprise.
Do Davis and Laettner fit the description? It's impossible to say at this point. They're not returning phone calls. They haven't answered any of the central questions:
1. How do you plan to succeed financially where Heisley has failed?
2. Heisley has said the team suffers because he's not a local owner. Wouldn't that apply to you, too?
3. What connections have you made in Memphis, anyway? We know you have big investors in New York and in Houston. Anyone from Memphis?
4. Would West stay as president of basketball operations? Word is you're eager to get rid of the Logo and his salary. Any truth to that?
5. Why would you pay roughly $300 million for the majority share of a team that continues to lose a staggering amount of money? Won't the inflated price almost require you to slash payroll?
This last question is particularly important to the long-term future of the team. Heisley is asking an extraordinary sum of money for a tenuous, money-losing franchise. By agreeing to pay it, Davis and Laettner would seem to be setting themselves up to fail. They'd also be pricing out Pitt Hyde, Staley Cates and the local ownership group, which can't be seen as a good thing for Memphis.
Hyde, Cates and the rest still have a right of refusal to buy the team. That is, if Heisley and Meadows get an offer, the local group can acquire the team by matching it.
Logic suggests the local group would match any reasonable offer. But at the numbers being thrown around now?
Not likely.
That could leave Davis and Laettner, two strangers, in charge of our civic enterprise. Or it could leave Heisley, hanging onto the team for another year even after he's decided to sell it.
Nobody knows, at this point. So the basketball staff slogs on with its workouts.
"We're going to be prepared," said Barone.
This summer, for anything.
To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or send an e-mail.