I'm not sure why Indians are going to root for one NBA team over another, perhaps if Sacramento drafts an Indian player then maybe India becomes Kings territory. There are other professional sports teams in America owned by foreign investors that aren't popular in that owners home nation. There are English Premier teams owned by Americans that have next to no major profile in America. I don't quite understand the argument that an Indian owner will make people in India root for the Kings, Ranadive is one of many Indian businessman who could make the NBA brand big in India, but it doesn't make it Kings territory.
Originally Posted by Gary
Another thing to consider is who did they submit the bid to? Maloofs? The NBA?
Is there even time for another bid to get in by the BOG meetings? If there is time enough for one more bid wouldn't they advise Sacramento of this and get the cash from Vivek? (he could write a check for the different he had said in the past).
Vivek is looking at this from a India POV. His money making ability for this team in India will far surpass what they could get for just the Seattle area. We are comparing a couple million to over a billion people. It turns India in essence to Kings territory. Jerseys, memorbilia, sponsorship... All from India is greater than the same three (memorbilia, jerseys, sponsorship) from just Seattle. I would even argue that Sacramento is pretty much on Seattles level for all three, but add India inthere and it's not even a contest.
It's not merely that an Indian person owns a team, and therefore people in India want to root for that team. That simple fact might be part of it, but it would be a small factor. What we have here is an owner with the vision, desire, revolutionary business ideas, and a full compliment of some of the most tech savvy people in the world that are his close friends and business associates (he's known Jacobs family since he was a kid out of MIT) that he has personally recruited to be part of his dream to globalize the NBA for the 21st century. I would recommend going back and watching all of Vivek's recent interviews on this subject. He talks about basketball as the global sport for the 21st century, the same way soccer was for the 20th. He cites that it is played by boys and girls, indoors or outdoors, in small groups or one on one, etc.
So it's not just Indians rooting for one of their own. The benefit of Vivek being Indian is it will lead to business connections in India which will help to promote the sport. But the main factor is Vivek's vision and skills. This is not just a guy with deep pockets like Hansen (/Ballmer), this is a guy who has articulated the future of the NBA.
Posted by whozit
Oh, I'm sure more than Gary has been reading your posts. The only thing that could be of contention is how important is the Indian market (or any other foreign market) to the Bucks, Pacers, Wizards or any other owner. Does it have much current relevancy to them? I don't have the answer to that.
The above answer's whozit's question a bit, but to elaborate: You can think of it kind of like today's NFL. Many people are NFL fans, and there are many people who don't have a team near them, but have simply picked one to root for, for one reason or another. The whole world is getting smaller. Think of what it will be like in 20-30 years. That's what Vivek is preparing for, and even helping to create. The NBA will be a global sport, even more than Euroleague soccer, mostly due to the digital age promotion and social media promotion capabilities of vested owners like Vivek and his group. It will be a "rising tide raises all boats" effect. Probably most Indians will end up being Kings fans, the way a lot of podunk towns have fans for the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Heat, etc., but you'll have people from all over the globe picking teams to root for. Bangladesh could be Timberwolves country for example. You may think this sounds absurd, but I guarantee you this is exactly what the NBA is thinking and planning, and probably has been turned on to to a greater degree by Vivek.
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Here's another future-ism idea: We know that sponsorship on jersey's is coming. Well, why would American advertisers be interested promoting their product in India? Well, those viewers won't be seeing American brands on jerseys. Technology will be created that will allow superimposition on moving digital images of different sponsors/brands in different global markets. Viewers of games televised in India could see players in Kings jerseys with Indian brands on them, digitally imposed during the broadcast (similar to how NFL marks first down lines on a screen). You could even break it down further than by country, and have it by region, city, or even by viewer, depending on the demographics and purchasing history of that particular viewer.
It'll either go this direction, or there will be the development of more global brands. I see the former much more likely.