Golden State Warriors sold!

[StevenHW]

Potential new owners for the Warriors are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.

Lacob is a Warriors season-ticket holder but is also a minority investor with the Boston Celtics. Guber is a Hollywood producer and runs his own TV and movie production company, Mandalay Entertainment (which has no connection with the Mandalay Bay Casino in Vegas).

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/15/sports/s113800D65.DTL


Here's a 2008 article on Joe Lacob:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/lacob-64640-celtics-team.html

 

[Boogie-havoc]

So are they moving to Las Vegas?

 

[kupman]

So are they moving to Las Vegas?

If they do, you can prepare yourself for endless stories of how the Kings are moving to the Bay.

 

[Arco Arena]

Odd how Larry Ellison was the highest bidder..yet wasn't chosen?

Guess it would have made too much sense for Cohan.

 

[Superman]

For a record $450 million? Are you serious??? Isn't this the worst time to buy an NBA team, with the impending lockout and new CBA coming? Not to mention the drastic shift in competitive balance that doesn't look to be quite over yet (Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony could still wind up in New York with Amare). I can't wrap my head around the fact that there were even higher bidders. Cohan is probably laughing all the way to the bank.

By the way, why does the article linked by the OP say that Ellison offered more, but Fox Sports says that he was unwilling to outbid Lacob and Gruber? That's odd.

 

[Arco Arena]

"Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else," Ellison said in a statement released by a spokeswoman at his company, Oracle. "In my experience, this is a bit unusual."

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors-headlines/ci_15524879?nclick_check=1

Somebody probably lied/gave bad info to Fox Sports

 

[Capt. Factorial]

So, $450M for Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, David Lee, and the rights to Ekpe Udoh's wrist? Doesn't really sound like a bargain.

 

[ElRey]

This is actually good news for the Kings and everyone else in the Western Conference that Larry Ellison didn't get the Warriors. Ellison, as many know, is the CEO and cofounder of Oracle Corporation. He is the sixth wealthiest person in the world, estimated to be worth about $28 billion. In the NBA today, having a filthy rich owner who is willing to spend whatever it takes to make his team successful is usually a good formula for success. unfortunately...

 

[Superman]

"Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else," Ellison said in a statement released by a spokeswoman at his company, Oracle. "In my experience, this is a bit unusual."

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors-headlines/ci_15524879?nclick_check=1

Somebody probably lied/gave bad info to Fox Sports

Maybe, but just because Ellison claims that he was the highest bidder doesn't make it so.

 

[Arco Arena]

Maybe, but just because Ellison claims that he was the highest bidder doesn't make it so.

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors-headlines/ci_15523454

okay, sources say Ellison was outbid.

If he was outbid why would he make the statement? It wouldn't...it doesn't make sense.

 

[cuad]

Well Ellison would have turned the Warriors around, so I'm glad he didn't get them. But jeez that sure is disappointing for Warriors fans.

 

[Boogie-havoc]

Sorry i'm a bit ignorant in these stuff, but isn't there a cap-space limit for players etc?

I mean how much of a diffrence can a rich owner make on a club?

 

[Warhawk]

Sorry i'm a bit ignorant in these stuff, but isn't there a cap-space limit for players etc?

I mean how much of a diffrence can a rich owner make on a club?

The richer owners will spend more to be in luxury tax territory.

 

[cuad]

All these owners can spend money. It's just that some of them realize that fans still show up at their games in spite of how bad they are. Think of the Clippers and the Warriors. The Clippers are in LA, and the Warriors games are always packed. So technically the owners don't have to work for a profit the way the Maloofs have to beg people (and actually build a good team) to get them into the stands here at ARCO.

So yeah, the hope from fans is that the team gets sold to someone who wants the franchise to be successful in more ways than just financially.

 

[Boogie-havoc]

Much clearer, thanks guys

 

[Telemachus]

All these owners can spend money. It's just that some of them realize that fans still show up at their games in spite of how bad they are. Think of the Clippers and the Warriors. The Clippers are in LA, and the Warriors games are always packed. So technically the owners don't have to work for a profit the way the Maloofs have to beg people (and actually build a good team) to get them into the stands here at ARCO.

So yeah, the hope from fans is that the team gets sold to someone who wants the franchise to be successful in more ways than just financially.

Kind of a bad analogy here. The Kings were packing the seat at Arco long before they became a good team. It is when fans expect a team to win that they stop coming for losing teams. The Warriors had half full arenas a few years ago, and then put together a couple playoff runs all of the sudden they are filling up their arena. The exception here are the Clippers. Being in LA, they pretty much make money no matter what product they put on the floor. And since they built Staples, they share arena costs with the Lakers (which I am sure helps their profits even more).

What it really boils down to is how much money can a market generate outside of just selling seats to games. There are a lot more opportunities in bigger cities than there are in Sacramento. That being said, they have been much more willing to spend money than either the Clippers or the Warriors during the Maloofs tenure as owners.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

A big chunk of the Clippers market is away fans rooting for their hometown teams.

 

[Superman]

A big chunk of the Clippers market is away fans rooting for their hometown teams.

Or NBA fans who like having season tickets, but don't want to spend $40,000 on a Lakers package. Ala Bill Simmons.

 

[ElRey]

Sorry i'm a bit ignorant in these stuff, but isn't there a cap-space limit for players etc?

I mean how much of a diffrence can a rich owner make on a club?

It's a SOFT cap, so there are many ways to go over the cap to allow a team to spend as much as they want. We've been talking about this topic in the other thread about ways to prevent superteams, etc. This topic in general will be will a very contentious topic as the NBA and its players start to negotiate their new collective bargaining agreement in 2011.