SI's Best & Worst NBA Owners

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

and as usual....los angeles lakers are ahead of the spurs...... again

How about that 4-0, 100% winning record in the Finals? 8/14 is only 57%!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Holt in the top 5? ROFL

Maybe the 5 worst. See: Jackson, Stephen ... Scola, Luis ... Nesterovic, Rasho ... Splitter, Tiago ... Udrih, Beno ... need I continue?

No, because you're being unreasonable. The only guy on that list who is not here because the ownership were tight is Scola, and at the time they traded him they obviously thought Splitter was coming, which didn't occur because the US$ went into the toilet. Beno was massively overpaid and is a decidedly average NBA player (thankfully we don't have to pay his contract - he had plenty of chances to stick here), Rasho was traded because the team wanted someone to understudy Horry, and the Jax saga has been told a thousand times on ST.

[ShoogarBear]

I recall that when the NBA and ABA merged, there was one ABA club too many and as a consolation, the owner was guaranteed a share of the TV revenues w/c at the time were just pennies. Well that guy is the "best owner" in the league, cashing in annual checks in excess of $100M w/o breaking a sweat.

The ownership of the Spirits of St. Louis. The greatest business deal ever made. One-seventh of the TV money from the Spurs, Nuggets, Nets, and Pacers goes to them. They're earning $15 million dollars a year to do nothing, for selling out a franchise that was never more than mediocre.

Donald Sterling says his prayers every night in front of an alter of these jokers.

The NBA placated John Y. Brown, owner of the Kentucky Colonels, by giving him a $3.3 million settlement in exchange for shutting his team down. (Brown later used much of that money to buy the Boston Celtics of the NBA.) But the owners of the Spirits, the brothers Ozzie and Dan Silna, struck a prescient deal to acquire future television money from the teams that joined the NBA, a one-seventh share from each franchise, in perpetuity. With network TV deals becoming more and more lucrative, the deal has made the Silnas wealthy, earning them $168 million as of July 2006, according to a Los Angeles Times report. (The NBA nearly succeeded in buying out the Silnas in 1982 by offering $5 million over eight years, but negotiations floundered when the siblings demanded $8 million over five.) The current TV deal gives the Silnas $14.57 million a season; on June 27, 2007, it was extended for another eight years, ensuring another $100 million-plus windfall for the former Spirits owners. [1]

Their deal is ironclad. The NBA has tried every which way they could to find an out, and they couldn't. When you've outmaneuvered David Stern, you go into the Dealmaking Hall of Fame.

[symple19]

are you serious? buss? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[symple19]

what a ing joke. the spurs ownership is one of the worst in the biz. thank that cheap mother er for the spurs game one loss against the rockets last year. couldn't get a ing plane? what kind of mickey mouse bull is that? not to even mention the other cheap that surrounds this franchise. sell the team if you can't afford it you piece of .

you don't even deserve to breathe after making a statement like that - perhaps you should volunteer for a euthanasia program

[ploto]

...your dream gay lover Rasho.

[lurker23]

Holt in the top 5? ROFL

Maybe the 5 worst. See: Jackson, Stephen ... Scola, Luis ... Nesterovic, Rasho ... Splitter, Tiago ... Udrih, Beno ... need I continue?

Championship caliber teams? Check.

Great character guys who you are proud to cheer for? Check.

Keeping a franchise financially viable in one of the smallest markets in the league, allowing them to stay there against all odds? Check.

Despite knowing the risks and even being initially reluctant, being willing to give into the coaching staff's desires and opening up the checkbook when necessary to keep your superstars (Robinson, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili). Check.

Still having spoiled fans who point out your relatively minor mistakes, which supposedly kept the Spurs from winning that mythical 7th championship? Check.

[exstatic]

Championship caliber teams? Check.

Great character guys who you are proud to cheer for? Check.

Keeping a franchise financially viable in one of the smallest markets in the league, allowing them to stay there against all odds? Check.

Despite knowing the risks and even being initially reluctant, being willing to give into the coaching staff's desires and opening up the checkbook when necessary to keep your superstars (Robinson, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili). Check.

Still having spoiled fans who point out your relatively minor mistakes, which supposedly kept the Spurs from winning that mythical 7th championship? Check.

lurker, FTW

[Mel_13]

Championship caliber teams? Check.

Great character guys who you are proud to cheer for? Check.

Keeping a franchise financially viable in one of the smallest markets in the league, allowing them to stay there against all odds? Check.

Despite knowing the risks and even being initially reluctant, being willing to give into the coaching staff's desires and opening up the checkbook when necessary to keep your superstars (Robinson, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili). Check.

Still having spoiled fans who point out your relatively minor mistakes, which supposedly kept the Spurs from winning that mythical 7th championship? Check.

This is among the best posts I've ever read on this board.

[PM5K]

I think Peter Holt is kind of like a basketball player that comes down the court and immediately chucks up a three pointer that goes in. When that shot goes in the guy is a genius, but if he misses his shot was ill advised.

Winning has made Peter Holt look good, but I wouldn't always say he's made the best decisions, and if this team hadn't been winning as much or as well, you'd hear more about those mistakes.

I'm not saying he's not a top five owner, I'm just saying sometimes it's a fine line between being one of the top five and being one of the bottom five.

Having said that there is no question Sterling is the worst owner in the NBA, but I think they should cut Bob Johnson some slack, that team was one less injury here or there from being in the Playoffs. If you really want to criticize someone you can criticize Jordan for drafting Morrison (Let's not even talk about Brown since that was back in Washington).

[DubMcDub]

Good list. Not at all surprised to see both Holt and Cubes in the top 3.

[Admiral]

I have a difficult time calling Donald Sterling the worst owner in the league. Yes, the Clippers are almost always bad, and a couple of their teams over the last 25 years have been considered among the worst in league history. But from a financial standpoint, the guy knows what he is doing. He bought a franchise for $12.5 million which is now worth nearly $300 million. That's a heck of an investment. Plus, he is always in a very small group of owners each year who doesn't lose money. When you're an owner and your investment is your top priority, it's hard to argue with Sterling's results.

[PM5K]

I don't have a difficult time calling Donald Sterling the worst owner in the league.

This is a guy whose team has had 14 top ten draft picks in the last 20 years and whose team still manages to be one of the worst in the league year after year.

The Spurs by comparison have had three top ten draft picks in the past 20 years.

Somehow this guy and his team manage to defy the whole idea of the draft, which is that bad teams get a better chance to get good players so that they can improve their team.