http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/404987p-342993c.html Rockets on block? by Mitch Lawrence NY Daily News The Celtics probably won't make the playoffs, overpaid badly in signing Mark Blount and Brian Scalabrine to free-agent contracts totaling nearly $50 million and are going nowhere fast with Danny Ainge calling the shots. So why would you hire one of their senior vice presidents, with almost no expertise in basketball, to be your GM? That's the question everybody is asking because it's exactly what Houston owner Les Alexander did last week in hiring Daryl Morey, the Celtics' senior VP of operations and information. The plan is for long-time GM Carroll Dawson to work through next season, with Morey acting as Dawson's assistant. Then Morey will take over in 2007-08. But this is where it gets interesting. Morey's background is busines not basketball. He led the due diligence process for the Boston investment group that bought the Celtics in December 2002. He also was part of a group that tried to buy the Rex Sox a few years ago. Mix in the fact that Alexander quietly asked people around the league during All-Star weekend in Houston what they felt the Rockets are worth, and it looks like Jeff Van Gundy might have a new owner to answer to in the near future. "By hiring Morey, it's a leading indicator that Les is going to be selling," said one source. "With their new building, it's a very attractive franchise." Industry experts believe that the Rockets could fetch upwards of $400 million, matching the record sale of the Suns to Robert Sarver in June 2004.
This is probably not good news. Les has been an aggressive, above-average owner. The next owner has more chances to mess things up than to fix them. The only upside would be to find an owner like Cuban willing to go over the luxury tax threshold, and those are few and far between.
Barkley has always wanted to be an owner...I bet he and MJ would be interested. Here's a rumor I'm going to start right now: Those two along with Magic Johnson. Is it any coincidence that he keeps buying stuff here? Hmmmmmmmmm.
Agreed. Even more than the new arena, it is Yao's presence and marketability to China that puts the valuation of this franchise through the roof. While Yao is young, this franchise is worth more than it ever will be. Assuming that he finds a way to get fans to buy tickets.
I actually think MJ will be interested in the Rox. He's been looking to buy for a very very long time.
Actually, he's been looking to own for a long time. He's never been real big on the 'paying a lot of money' part. The Rockets are priced out of his range right now.
So that Bill Gate buying Rockets news is not totally April 1st material? I wonder why google.com tried to get more cash lately.
If true, this could put JVG and the new GM on very short leashes since new owners like to bring in their own people.
more than anything, i would think an asian-based company could be a player in this. it's like how the Seattle Mariners of baseball is majority owned by Nintendo because of Ichiro. Maybe a company from China would like to jump in?
I don't see this happening, there would be a lot of red tape IMO. Not to bring race into things, but I bet the NBA would like to see an african-american owner like MJ rather than a chinese group from overseas. But this just seems like a bunch of speculation to me.
If they hired Morey to help sell the organization, then why would they call him Assistant General Manager? The only scenario that makes sense is the one that Les has announced. I'm guessing BS on this story. 1) If Les hired him to be the future GM of the Rockets, then obviously calling him Assistant GM makes perfect sense. 2) If Les is selling the team and he wants to be discrete right now about hiring someone to help, then calling him Assistant GM doesn't make sense. It would have generated less press and talk if they gave him a business management title, or a title that aligned exactly with his known talents. Calling him something he is not experienced in just draws attention to the situation... hence the typical New York press diaharrea columns. 3) If Les is selling the team and is about to announce it, then calling him Assistant GM doesn't makes sense either. He could have just hired him later or once again called him what he is actually going to be doing.
WHO IS MIKE JONES A lot of rappers are becoming nba franchise owners, taht would be funny if the rockets ended up with one. Would have been a funny prank for april fools - MIke jones to buy the houston rockets. I hope we get someone rich and someone smart and someone kind. Cuban is an ideal owner, he fills the staduim, he is really rich, and so commited to the team it is amazing. Please not jordan, we dont need a kwame brown move.
maybe the rockets could be destined to greatness if they sell.... and hopefully the buy the naming rights cuz i dont like the name of the Toyota Center..
ive got 21 dollars and 47 cents in my pocket RIGHT NOW...ill throw my name into the ring for a minority ownership
Dear God, I loved them all as players, but as owners of a basketball franchise would leave me looking for another team! (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating... but yeow)
