Tweet of the Day: Big day for the future of the Sacramento Kings

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The Board of Governors (BOG) meeting in Dallas on Wednesday brings together two potential ownership groups representing two different cities. Both groups have the same goal: the acquisition of the Sacramento Kings NBA basketball franchise from current owners Joe and Gavin Maloof.

Wednesday’s meeting of the BOG will conclude with the league’s 30 owners voting on the proposal to relocate the Kings from Sacramento to Seattle. Both ownership groups will have an opportunity to address the Board with their proposals.

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Heisley selling Grizzlies to communications technology executive

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Michael Heisley, who moved the Grizzlies from Vancouver to Memphis over 10 years ago, is selling the team to a group owned by communications technology executive Robert J. Pera.

The team announced the sale agreement Monday in a news release that did not disclose financial terms, although ESPN.com reported the price to be $350 million. The sale is pending the approval of the NBA Board of Governors, antitrust clearance and other conditions.

Heisley, 75, bought the Grizzlies in 2000, when the franchise was located in western Canada. The following year, he moved the team to Memphis.

Under Heisley’s ownership, the Grizzlies made the playoffs from 2004-06, getting swept in the first round each time and compiling 12 straight postseason losses, a record at the time.

Among the bolder moves made by management during Heisley’s ownership were the hiring of Jerry West in 2002 after he left his personnel position with the Lakers, the trade of All-Star Pau Gasol to the Lakers in 2008 and the brief signing of Allen Iverson in 2009.

The Grizzlies have made the playoffs each of the last two years, upsetting the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games a year ago and losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round this season.

For some time, Heisley had a reputation as a frugal owner as the Grizzlies’ payroll hovered below or at the salary cap and never approached the luxury tax. But recently Heisley has shown a willingness to pay for talent, signing starters Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to lucrative long-terms contract extensions totaling more than $260 million.

“I have enjoyed my ownership of the Grizzlies and the support for professional basketball in Memphis,” Heisley said in a statament. “I am confident that the franchise will continue its development toward being a perennial championship contender and an important member of the Memphis community.

“I am particularly gratified that we have put together a team which is poised to continue its improvement. We have an outstanding team of players, coaching staff, and basketball and business management. In Robert, we have a new owner who has expressed a total commitment to build on our success in Memphis.”

Pera is the founder and CEO of Ubiquiti Networks, a publicly traded communications technology company. Just 34 years old, he was a wireless engineer with Apple before leaving the technology giant in 2005 to start Ubiquiti, which went public in 2011, making Pera a billionaire.

Pera is single and lives in San Jose, Calif. He plays basketball several times a week.

 

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NBA unveils new Competition Committee

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NEW YORK — If Dan Gilbert wants to raise the basket height to 12 feet, or have the All-Star ballot printed in Comic Sans font, he can bring it up for discussion with the competition committee.

And now, he can be a part of the discussion, too.

Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was announced Wednesday as one of the new members of the league’s reformulated competition committee — the group that recommends rules changes such as the ones that were put forth at this year’s All-Star weekend changing waiver rules and roster sizes.

Previously, the competition committee was comprised of the general managers from each of the league’s 30 teams. But last month, the league’s Board of Governors voted to change the composition of the committee to include two owners, four general managers, three head coaches and one representative from the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).

“The board decided that the inclusion of owners and head coaches on the Competition Committee would add valuable perspectives to discussions about our game and how it might be improved,” said Joel Litvin, NBA president of league operations. “At the same time, we will continue to receive input on competition and rules matters from all 30 teams through the General Managers Committee.”

The members of the new Competition Committee are owners Gilbert and Joe Lacob (Golden State); general managers Bryan Colangelo (Toronto Raptors), Mitch Kupchak (L.A. Lakers), Kevin O’Connor (Utah Jazz), and Sam Presti (Oklahoma City); and coaches Rick Carlisle (Dallas Mavericks), Lionel Hollins (Memphis Grizzlies), and Doc Rivers (Boston Celtics). The NBPA will designate one of its members to serve on the committee.

As is the case currently, if the Competition Committee votes in favor of changing a playing rule or any other competition-related matter, the recommendation will be brought to the Board of Governors for its consideration and vote.

The new committee will meet on a regular basis, and its first meeting will take place during the Finals.

 


		

		
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NBA labor agreement passes by 25-5 vote
 
		
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NEW YORK — Five NBA owners voted against the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, commissioner David Stern said Thursday following the conclusion of the league’s Board of Governors meeting.


The identities of those five teams were not disclosed, and Stern joked that the over/under on negative votes as set at 8 before the ballots were cast.


But what Stern did disclose is that he expects this to be the last collective bargaining agreement he negotiates – even if one side chooses to opt out of the 10-year agreement after Year 6.


“I don’t believe in legacies. We had a deal we had to make,” Stern said, calling the agreement a “watershed moment” for the future success of all 30 NBA teams. He also described the agreement as “fair, but not perfect.”


The commissioner sounded most proud of the new “robust” revenue sharing plan — under which the amount of money going from large-market to small-market teams will quadruple, with several teams receiving as much as $20 million annually, including six that will receive at least $16 million.


Some teams (Stern did not say which ones) will contribute as much as $50 million annually toward revenue sharing.


 

		

		
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