April 2013 Basketball Wiretap

Ranadive Selling 7 Percent Share Of Warriors

May 31, 2013 1:13 PM

Vivek Ranadive is in the process of selling his shares of the Golden State Warriors now that he has assumed ownership of the Sacramento Kings.

Ranadive reportedly invested $30 million when the Joe Lacob-led ownership group purchased the Warriors in 2010 for $425 million.

Lacob and Peter Guber each invested $50 million, while Lacob's ex-wife's trust invested $75 million.

Erika Glazer and Bob Piccinini each invested $25 million, while a group of smaller investors were pooled together at $20 million.

The group also ran debt to the NBA at $150 million.

Matt Steinmetz/Comcast

Tags: Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA CBA

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Hansen Group Won't Go After Another City's Team Again

May 28, 2013 6:26 PM

Chris Hansen had a candid interview with KJR in Seattle where he discussed his ownership group's future plans to bring an NBA team to the area.

Hansen reached an agreement to purchase the Sacramento Kings from the Maloof family with the intention of moving them to Seattle.

"We're not going to be going to another city as a predator again," said Hansen. "The last thing we want is people in other cities fearing our group, 'if you don't get this done we're taking your team.'"

Hansen was surprised by the way in which Sacramento brought together a viable ownership group to keep the Kings from moving.

"If we'd known that there would have been such strong support to keep the team in Sacramento, we'd have approached it differently," said Hansen.

Hansen also expressed support for David Stern and that he doesn't hold a grudge against Seattle.

"I don't think that David Stern has it out for Seattle," said Hansen.

Aaron Bruski/NBC

Tags: NBA, NBA CBA

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Source: Hunter Was Reluctant To File Lawsuit During Playoffs

May 27, 2013 12:37 PM

Billy Hunter was reluctant to file a lawsuit against the NBPA, Derek Fisher and Jamie Wior during the playoffs, but a source says that his reputation had been damaged to the point of needing to respond with legal action.

The source added that Hunter is not interested in being reinstated as executive director.

"For Fisher," Hunter accuses in the suit, "the lockout could not end soon enough. For similar reasons, some of the most highest compensated NBA players ("Certain Players"), and their agents, shared Fisher's sentiment that the lockout must end."

David Aldridge/NBA.com

Tags: NBA, NBA CBA

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Carlesimo: Nets' Title Expectations Not Realistic Based On Roster

May 24, 2013 9:58 AM

P.J. Carlesimo had a 35-19 record as interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and said that expectations from ownership are not lining up with the level of talent on the roster.

Carlesimo, however, did say that the Nets' head coach opening is one of the best in the NBA since they are a playoff team.

"Having said that, the expectations to win a championship in two years, that’s a heavy load for anybody, not just for Brooklyn. But I don’t know if that’s realistic the way the roster is right now," Carlesimo said Thursday.

"I wouldn’t say that team cannot win a championship, because we thought we could this year if things broke a little better for us. But if that’s on your plate that you need to win a championship in two years, I think that makes it a little challenging."

Mikhail Prokhorov said after buying the Nets in 2010 his goal was to win a championship within five years. 

"I also think the expectations are maybe not totally realistic, but you’d rather have that from your owner, and then he’s got the wherewithal to back it up," Carlesimo said. "That’s his goal. We talked about that from day one. He doesn’t make any bones about it. He doesn’t want to have a nice team, he doesn’t want to just sell tickets in Brooklyn and make the team competitive. He wants to win an NBA championship, and as a coach you can’t ask for more that. So if what comes with that is a short leash, well, so be it."

AP

Tags: Brooklyn Nets, NBA, NBA CBA

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Levien: Grizzlies Using Analytics To Manage Salary Cap

May 23, 2013 11:30 AM

The Memphis Grizzlies are using advanced analytics to manage the salary cap.

“People talk about analytics in evaluating players, but there’s a lot of analytics around the salary cap,” said Josh Levien, the first-year CEO of the Grizzlies. “How much should we spend for a player at a certain position and what role he’s going to play? So that’s a lot of what we’ve done and are working on, is salary-cap analytics, being thoughtful about how we structure our roster and how we can get the best bang for our buck.”

The collective bargaining agreement imposes unprecedented penalties on teams exceeding the cap.

“With the rules set up the way they are, there’s minimal room for error,” Levien said. “You’ve got to be very thoughtful in your approach to how you build your team, how you build a roster, and you’ve got to keep the cap and the tax in mind.”

Jeff Caplan/NBA.com

Tags: Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA CBA

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NBA Has Lowest Rated Conference Final Opener Since 2007 In Spurs/Grizzlies

May 21, 2013 1:36 PM

The San Antonio Spurs' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 on Sunday drew a 3.9 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon.

That is down 41 percent from the Miami Heat/Boston Celtics Game 1 on ESPN last season and down 26 percent from the Oklahoma City Thunder/Dallas Mavericks Game 1 on ESPN in 2011.

The game ranks as the lowest rated conference final opener since 2007 when the Cleveland Cavaliers/Detroit Pistons drew a 3.5 on TNT.

San Antonio is the 36th larget market, while Memphis ranks 49th.

The NBA hopes to soon negotiate new television contracts with their national partners. While the league is generally seen to be on the rise, the new collective bargaining agreement favors parity and incoming commissioner, Adam Silver, has made it an expected touchstone of his regime to continue that trend.

Sports Media Watch

Tags: Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, NBA, NBA CBA

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Hansen-Ballmer Decline Refund Of $30M Non-Refundable Deposit From NBA's Other Owners

May 17, 2013 10:59 AM

The NBA owners offered to refund a $30 million non-refundable deposit made by the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer ownership group that was made when entering into a purchase agreement with the Sacramento Kings.

The Seattle-based group had agreed to buy the team from the Maloof family.

Hansen and Ballmer declined to accept the offer, which would have come from each of the NBA's 30 owners.

Chris Mannix/Sports Illustrated

Tags: Sacramento Kings, NBA, NBA CBA

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Billy Hunter Files Suit Against NBPA, Fisher, Wior

May 16, 2013 2:12 PM

Billy Hunter has filed a lawsuit against the National Basketball Players Association, Derek Fisher and Jamie Wior.

Hunter was voted out unanimously as executive director of the NBPA in February. Hunter had been executive director of the NBPA since 1996. 

A report from an independent party showed Hunter used poor judgement on hiring practices, spent improperly on several forms of expenses and his contract was never properly approved. The report, however, showed no evidence of illegal use of union funds.

Fisher is president of the NBPA, while Wior serves as his business manager.

Scott Soshnick/Bloomberg

Tags: NBA, NBA CBA

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Board Of Governors Rejects Kings' Move To Seattle

May 15, 2013 6:40 PM

The NBA Board of Governors has voted down a bit to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, according to a report from USA Today's Sami Amick.

The Maloofs had agreed to sell the Kings to a group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer who had planned on moving the franchise to Seattle as a replacement for the departed Sonics.

Mitch Levy of KJR reports that 22 teams voted for the Kings to remain in Sacramento while eight approved the sale.

The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008.

A group attempting to buy the Kings to keep them in Sacramento is being led by Vivek Ranadive, current part owner of the Golden State Warriors.

If the Kings are able to build a new arena in downtown Sacramento, plans call for the city to heavily finance the build.

With nearly all NBA teams in fairly stable situations in their current locations, Seattle's best chance at getting a team now appears to be through expansion.

"We will talk to the Maloofs within the next 24 to 48 hours to see if we can facilitate an agreement between Maloofs and Ranadive group," said David Stern.

Stern described the presentation made by the Seattle group as "excellent" and an "extraordinary ownership group."

Stern said there was a generalized talk to consider expansion, but will wait until the completion of the next television negotiation.

Stern promised "fair dealing" in regards to Seattle in the future. Stern also praised the efforts from Hansen and Ballmer and said that their relationship with the league is very good.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Sacramento Kings, NBA, NBA CBA

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Relocation Committee Doesn't Change Position On Kings Following Monday Meeting

May 13, 2013 8:33 PM

The NBA's relocation committee met on Monday in regards to the future of the Sacramento Kings and did not change their position to keep the team from moving to Seattle, according to a source.

A final vote with all 30 owners is scheduled for Wednesday.

Vivek Ranadive is leading an ownership group trying to buy the Kings to keep them in Sacramento and to build a new arena.

The Maloof family has told the league they don't plan to sell to Ranadive if the move is blocked.

The Ranadive group has worked with Sacramento on a new downtown arena that would include $250 million in public money.

The Maloofs prefer to sell to a group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer that intends to relocate the Kings to Seattle.

Brian Windhorst/ESPN

Tags: Sacramento Kings, NBA, NBA CBA

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Maloofs Haven't Ruled Out Sacramento Offer

Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis/Sacramento Bee

Maloofs Have 'Backup' Agreement With Hansen-Ballmer Group

Brian Windhorst/ESPN

Seattle Group Raises Bid For Kings By $75M

Chris Daniels/KING 5

Kevin Johnson On Hansen, Ballmer: 'Take The High Road'

Ryan Lillis/Sacramento Bee

Report: New Kings' Owners Will Accept No Revenue Share Money In New Arena

Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak/Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Ownership Group Makes Deposit For Kings Amid Lawsuit Against City

Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak/Sacramento Bee