Six people have inquired about purchasing the Magic since the "For Sale" sign went up.

Club President Bob Vander Weide assumes all the callers to be serious, although he does expect to hear from a few non-billionaires who "wouldn't mind the publicity for a while."

Vander Weide wouldn't reveal their names or even begin to talk specifics with them.

"I told them we'll get back to you next week," he said.

"We're trying to get through this week first."

It has been three days since Owner Rich DeVos made it public that he will sell the NBA team he has owned for 11 years.

DeVos and Vander Weide said Monday the process of selling the team could take as long as two years, and a lot of things could happen by then.

The 75-year-old DeVos wouldn't even rule out the possibility of taking the team off the market, although he clearly does not expect to do so.

Even if the Magic had been successful in getting Orange County and the City of Orlando to kick in on the construction of a new arena, De Vos said, the sale of the team would have been only postponed.

"If it had gone through, we would not be here because we would have seen it through then," he said.

"At some point in time, however, we would have to face the issue."

The issue is DeVos' mortality. DeVos is living on a borrowed heart, and he wants to make sure his heirs get the most out of his multi-billion dollar Amway estate.

Ownership of the Magic was draining it, and also draining his family's enthusiasm for staying in pro sports.

"They wanted to stay in. Who wouldn't?" DeVos said.

"All of our family would love to stay in. They just sit there and say: 'Dad, how long do you want to keep eating those losses? How long can you go on doing that and still live the comfortable style you live?'

"We can't keep eating these losses forever, so there's no solution."

Except to get out. The losses have amounted to $8 to $10 million a year over the last four years, Vander Weide said.

Orange County and the City of Orlando have a big problem with that.

Either they don't believe the figures, or they assume the losses result from bad management, or they assume the current arena to be adequate, or they don't care. Or something.

In any case, they haven't shown the slightest willingness to spend a dime on a new one.

So be it, says DeVos. He has stated his case and the verdict is in. He accepts it.

It is time to move on, and he can't guarantee that the Magic's next owners won't do exactly that.

He did say he would feel better about the Magic staying where they are.

And he acknowledged that the new owner would have to get over a lot of hurdles -- including a league-imposed "relocation fee" of at least $30 million -- to move somewhere else.

"But that's a league issue," he said. "Once I'm gone, I'm gone."