Eric Schmidt has joined Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez as part of their ownership group to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Lore and Rodriguez have been looking to raise money ahead of their next call option where they will purchase an additional 40 percent in the franchise. 

The duo raised at least some of the money in this round at a $2.1 billion valuation. Lore and Rodriguez purchased the Wolves in 2021 at a $1.5 billion valuation.

Schmidt served as CEO and chairman of Google from 2001 to 2011, staying on as chairman through 2015. Schmidt was recently part of the ownership group to purchase the NFL's Washington Commanders.

Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are expected to exercise their option to acquire controlling ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves form Glen Taylor as soon as today. The partners face a December 31st deadline.

The action formalizes their intent to purchase an additional 40 percent of the franchise from Taylor and give Lore and Rodriguez 80 percent ownership by early 2024.

Lore and Rodriguez agreed to buy the Wolves at a $1.5 billion valuation via a tranched-out purchase. Lore and Rodriguez have been working on raising money to finance the next purchase.

The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the Dallas Mavericks to the Adelson and Dumont families of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. All 29 other teams voted in favor of the sale, which valued the Mavericks at $3.5 billion. The ultimate team valuation is expected to be between $4 billion to $5 billion when factoring the Sands' financial pledge to build a new arena.

Mark Cuban agreed to sell his majority stake in the franchise while retaining 27 percent ownership and control of basketball operations.

The parties hope to eventually build a new arena with a hotel and casino in Dallas.

Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery are holding preliminary talks about a merger that would impact live sports rights in the United States.

The NBA currently airs on TNT, which is under the WBD umbrella. Paramount continues to own CBS.

If the two companies merged, WBD would have greater flexibility in crafting its strategy for carrying NBA games. TNT's current NBA deal expires after the 24-25 season.

The McCombs family has purchased a stake in the San Antonio Spurs.

Red McCombs owned at least a share of the Spurs for 11 years and was the team's primary owner for five years. 

The Spurs moved to San Antonio for the 1973 ABA season after McCombs and a group of local investors purchased the then-Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA.

McCombs sold his share of the franchise to purchase the Denver Nuggets in 1978. He sold the Nuggets in 1985, returning as the Spurs' primary owner in May 1988.

McCombs sold the Spurs in 1993 to an investment group led by Peter Holt, whose son now runs the team.

Mark Cuban will retain a 27 percent stake in the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell Marc Stein. The report follows Sportico indicating that Cuban would retain approximately a 25 percent stake in the franchise.

Cuban will retain control of basketball operations under the Adelson family.

Stein's report points out that Cuban's ownership stake will remain larger than that of Joe Lacob's interest in the Golden State Warriors. Lacob, however, is the governor of the Warriors.

The NBA's next media rights deal won't begin until the 25-26 season, but it is widely expected to be agreed upon by the 2024 summer.

The existing nine-year deal is wroth $2.66 billion per year on average.

While the possibility of a 200 percent increase was floated in 2021, most teams are now expecting an increase between 100 percent and 150 percent.

The NBA only has two partners currently, ESPN and TNT, but the new deal could include as many as five with three on the linear side and two streamers. 

Mark Cuban will retain roughly a 25 percent ownership stake in the Dallas Mavericks following his sale to the Adelson and Dumont families. 

The Mavericks are valued by Sportico at $4.03 billion, but Cuban sold the stake in the franchise at a $3.5 billion valuation. 

The new owners of the Mavericks are hoping to lobby Texas to legalize gambling within the state and then build a new arena attached to a hotel and casino in Dallas.

As part of the unconventional deal, Cuban reportedly will run the basketball operations of the franchise "forevermore."

The average valuation of NBA teams is up 33 percent from last year at $4 billion, according to Sportico.

Compared to Sportico's first valuation three years ago, the average team valuation is up 70 percent.

The Golden State Warriors are the NBA's most valuable franchise at $8.28 billion, followed by the New York Knicks at $7.43 billion and the Los Angeles Lakers at $7.34 billion. 

The Dallas Cowboys are the only sports team in the world worth more than the Warriors, Knicks and Lakers, with the New York Yankees rounding out the top five.

Collectively, the NBA’s 30 teams are worth $120 billion, including team-related businesses and real estate held by owners.

The NBA has an 11.0 average value-to-revenue multiple, which is the highest amongst the major sports leagues. The NFL, by comparison, has an 8.8 average value-to-revenue multiple, while the MLS is at 6.5.

The Los Angeles Lakers' victory over the Indiana Pacers in the In-Season Tournament Final drew 4.6 million viewers across ABC/ESPN2.

The game was the most-watched non-playoff, non-Christmas Day game since 2018.

The audience for the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship Game was also up 64 percent from last season’s NBA Saturday Primetime on ABC average. 

The NBA reportedly has interest in selling the In-Season Tournament to a streaming company as a separate media rights package.