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Rumor ==> Cavaliers=Chinese Billionaire+Yao+ James

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by macming, May 21, 2009.

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dback816 Member

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Haha what do you know eh...

#81 dback816, May 25, 2009

fairplay New Member

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I read it somewhere on the internet that the first and most import job of the new Cav owner is to sign a new contract with LJ, and also bring a better centre to Cleveland though it didn't mention any names.

Bringing Yao to Cleveland is to show LJ that Cleveland management is determined to build a better team around LJ to get a ring, and in addition to increase his popularity in China.

So as for LJ, he gets more money by sponsors ifrom China and better team to win championship, why he still needs to go to NY?

#82 fairplay, May 25, 2009
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Don't panic guys. Yao won't go nowhere, cause I think Les still has some card in his hand as the last resort: allow Yao to get some shares of Rockets as long as he agrees to stay in Houston. It's a big lure for Yao to stay in Houston. This way, even after Yao retires, he would try his best to make money for the franchise cause he himself is also an owner. This would be a win-win situation. What do you guys think this potential solution???

#83 tsunami, May 25, 2009
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Legend Killer said:

Lebron James is going to NYC when he becomes a FA, so if Yao goes to the Cavs, he would be an idiot
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Well since now that China investment group becomes an owner of the franchise, Lebron has a great opportunity to stay in Cleveland.

#84 tsunami, May 25, 2009
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madmonkey37 said:

Sources: Chinese investors close to purchasing share of Cleveland Cavaliers
Posted by jturner May 23, 2009 23:31PM

In an effort to broaden the Cavaliers' appeal into Asia while getting an infusion of cash, team owner Dan Gilbert is expected to sell part of the team to Chinese businessman JianHua (Kenny) Huang, sources told The Plain Dealer
# Game 3 Preview | Bud Shaw | Bill Livingston | Terry Pluto
John Kuntz/The Plain DealerFor both Eastern Conference final home games against Orlando, Kenny Huang (looking at scoreboard) was a guest of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers already have a global star. A clutch-shooting global star at that. Soon they may have a global partner that could help secure that global star's future in Cleveland.

According to multiple sources within the Cavs, franchise majority owner Dan Gilbert has a tentative agreement in place to allow a group of Chinese investors to purchase a significant stake in the Cavaliers Operating Company, the entity that owns the Cavs and operates Quicken Loans Arena. The group is led by JianHua (Kenny) Huang, a Chinese businessman who has become successful by linking American and Chinese companies.

Huang and several of his partners were in Cleveland and attended Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference finals this week. He sat in Gilbert's courtside box Friday night and watched LeBron James hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to even the series with the Orlando Magic at one game apiece.

"Dan Gilbert has been approached multiple times over the past few years by investors that wanted to join the Cavs' ownership group," said Len Komoroski, Cavs and Quicken Loans Arena president said in a statement.

"This has recently happened again. As has been done previously, we're in the process of reviewing the possibility presented to us. Beyond that, we do not feel it would be appropriate to give further comment at this time."

Calls to Huang's company were not returned.

The direct impact of the move is securing the future of the franchise, which has been in a minority ownership flux for the last couple years as it loses millions in attempting to build a championship-quality team around James. It will not only mean an injection of capital but will open the Cavs to business in China. The move, which has been kept mostly secret in America, is being supported by the NBA as they have encouraged development in China.

The other effect, which is surely the more interesting side to Cavs fans, is how vital this new link could be for James -- providing a huge tie-in with an economy James is eager to tap.
Eugene Hoshiko/Associated PressOne of the immediate impacts of Chinese part-ownership of the Cavaliers would be a much more aggressive marketing of LeBron James to Asia -- which could conceivably make it more attractive for James to stay with the team when his contract expires in the summer of 2010.
Any team ownership transfer of more than five percent must be voted on by the NBA's Board of Governors following background and financial checks. If the deal comes to fruition and is approved by team owners, it could help to remarkably strengthen James' relationship with the Chinese fans and consumers that he's been working to reach for the last four years.

Huang, who has been working with the Cavs for the last two years in securing Chinese sponsorship through one of this companies, would represent a direct link between hundreds of millions of Chinese basketball fans and James. If the deal comes off, Chinese fans could start to feel a connection to James and it could expand his business interests by remaining with the Cavs past next season when his contract with the team expires.

In other words, there is great potential in being with a franchise that has a deep relationship to China -- likely even more so than just playing in the largest market in America. There has been intense speculation that James will be attracted to playing in New York because of the business opportunities.

"You have to think globally," James said recently of his business interests. "I have a lot of fans in China and they're important to me."

James and Nike, by far his largest sponsor, have been on a mission to create a bond with the Chinese over the last three years in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. James has made four visits to China, one with the Cavs as part of a preseason trip in 2007.

With basketball exploding in popularity among millions of young Chinese with exponentially growing buying power, James has targeted opportunities in the Far East to make the same kind of marketing impact in modern China that Michael Jordan had in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. Only the market there operates on a dramatically larger scale.

Becoming the Jordan of China from a marketing standpoint would allow James to reach his goal of someday becoming the first billionaire athlete.

Over the last few years James has been lagging behind more established stars like Kobe Bryant and even Tracy McGrady, a teammate of China's national hero Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, in Chinese popularity.

But his Most Valuable Player Award -- an honor that brought Bryant to the top of the list in Chinese jersey sales within the last year -- has gotten James huge attention. With increased interest with this deal, James could be in position to surge ahead.

Plain Dealer file photoJianHua (Kenny) Huang attended American universities and has cultivated business contacts throughout U.S. professional athletics.
Huang has a chance to play a large role in it and profit as well, which is seemingly why he's focused on getting a piece of James and the Cavs now. Huang is part of at least two groups that specialize and creating partnerships between American and Chinese companies.

As a partner in Sportscorp China, which has a U.S. base in Chicago with well-known sports consultant Marc Ganis, Haung became a leading dealmaker with pro sports teams. He's worked deals with the New York Yankees, the Houston Rockets and USA Basketball by creating deals with Chinese sponsors.

Fans watching Cavs games this season may have noticed Chinese characters on scorer's table advertisements during some games. Those were there specifically for the Chinese market in games that were being broadcast in China to millions and millions of viewers. Huang helped set those deals up.

In Chinese business culture, sponsor relationships will often open the door to other business opportunities. Huang -- who is a native of Guangzhou, China, and holds degrees from Columbia University, St. John's University and New York University -- has been able to extend sponsor deals investments. According to the Sports Business Journal, Huang and Ganis' Sportscorp has set up at least six American pro sports team owners with lucrative Chinese initial public stock offerings.

For example, he helped Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander invest $30 million in a Chinese athletic apparel company several years ago. The investment jumped 42 percent within days of the stock's release.

Huang is also has been a director of the Aspen Infrastructure Investment Corporation, a U.S.-based group that Huang has led into investments in expansion of Chinese roads and utilities. It is following the same path of linking money on both sides of the Pacific into growth areas -- be it the Cavs, the Yankees or various budding Chinese corporate giants.

Gilbert has been approached by foreign investors several times over the last few years. In several interviews last year, NBA Commissioner David Stern predicted there would be ownership by an international group in the near future. The global economic slowdown has affected those projections.

Despite being the Cavs' majority owner, Gilbert's ownership team is perhaps not what he thought it would be when he purchased the club, its debt and the rights to run The Q for $375 million in 2005. At the time, former majority owner Gordon Gund and Gilbert's cousin and longtime business parnter David Katzman were believed to have taken a combined ownership stake of more than 30 percent. Gilbert also had a deal to sell a piece of the team to music star and actor Usher Raymond IV.

But over the last several years things have changed. Gund has begun to pull back on his desire to remain a part owner and focus on his foundation, the Foundation Fighting Blindness. He's already reduced his stake in the team from the initial investment.

Usher remains a part owner, but did not invest the amount he and Gilbert agreed to at the beginning and has taken a low profile after being on the dais with Gilbert, Katzman and Gund on March 1, 2005, the day the ownership transfer took place.

Over the last two years, Katzman and Gilbert have seen some of their business interests go in different directions. Katzman was previously listed in the team media guide as vice chairman, but he was removed last year. Katzman has come to only a few games all season.

In an interview with The Plain Dealer in March, Gilbert said Katzman's role was "the same" and he isn't "as visible because he was involved in some other ventures."

Over the last four years, the Cavs have spent around $20 million in upgrades to The Q, invested $25 million in a practice facility in Independence and spent wildly on players. The Cavs have paid the luxury tax in each of the last two seasons and this year will commit to more than $100 million in payroll and taxes.

Even with record-shattering revenue -- including one of the most rewarding local television deals in the NBA despite being in the 17th-largest market -- the Cavs are still believed to be losing millions. Their current owners are also heavily invested in industries that have suffered losses over the last two years.

The Cavs ownership group currently consists of three faces. Coach Mike Brown now routinely refers to the team's "three owners" which include Gilbert, Jeff Cohen and Nate Forbes. Cohen is a wealthy builder of homes and commercial properties in Michigan and Florida. Forbes is a Detroit-based mall developer. Gilbert made his fortune mostly in mortgages.

There are other partners, but those three sit together at nearly every Cavs game and are close to players and coaches.

On Friday before Game 2, Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry, Cohen and Forbes spent time showing Huang, Ganis and some other investors around The Q. Soon they could be regulars.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/05/sources_chinese_investors_clos.html
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this is old news now according to the latest from sina the chinese fellow apparently lost 1.2 billion recently with some currency swap and interest rates derivatives and is not backing down from the deal.

#85 vizier, May 25, 2009
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vizier said:

this is old news now according to the latest from sina the chinese fellow apparently lost 1.2 billion recently with some currency swap and interest rates derivatives and is not backing down from the deal.
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LOL you are so clueless. The deal was just inked.

#86 tsunami, May 25, 2009
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"do you know what this means??? it means...that this damn thing doesn't work at all!!"

#87 MadMax, May 25, 2009

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Just saw this on Yahoo.

HTML:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-cavaliers-chinaownership&prov=ap&type=lgns
#88 fogo11606, May 25, 2009
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lol wtf ^
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-cavaliers-chinaownership&prov=ap&type=lgns

#89 fogo11606, May 25, 2009
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You are so brain washed.

jose said:

yao isn't even allowed to be traded without approval from the CBA(Chinese basketball association) and Chinese government man.
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#90 veryfree, May 25, 2009
B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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tsunami said:

Don't panic guys. Yao won't go nowhere, cause I think Les still has some card in his hand as the last resort: allow Yao to get some shares of Rockets as long as he agrees to stay in Houston. It's a big lure for Yao to stay in Houston. This way, even after Yao retires, he would try his best to make money for the franchise cause he himself is also an owner. This would be a win-win situation. What do you guys think this potential solution???
Click to expand...

Yes, I believe there is a seldom seen article in the CBA that allows union members to also be part-owners. There is an obligatory exploding labor attorney head, but then it's smooth sailing.

#91 B-Bob, May 25, 2009
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Great. I can reply. I have to say this guy would be a dangerous man. He will put Yao on his mind.

#92 uestar, May 25, 2009
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You, Cavaliers fans, are so obviously wrong.

The Chinese billionaire has taken a minority stake in the Cavaliers. Once he raises his stake to a majority in 2010. He can force a sign-and-trade of Lebron to Houston for T-mac, or fire the GM and get somebody who will do the trade.

Houston is the 6th largest US metro. Houston has a larger asian population than Cleveland.

#93 BetterThanEver, May 25, 2009

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It is official:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/05/24/cavs.china.ap/index.html

Cavs sign ownership deal with China group
Posted May 24 2009 6:41PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed an agreement with an investment group from China to become minority owners of the NBA franchise and its arena, a partnership that could impact superstar LeBron James' future with the team.

The Asian conglomerate, which includes JianHua Huang, a Chinese businessman who has brokered sponsorship deals with the New York Yankees and other sports franchises in the U.S., could acquire up to 15 percent of Cavaliers Operating Company, the entity that owns the team and operates Quicken Loans Arena.

The deal, completed by the sides in recent days, must be approved by the league's board of governors.

Team president Len Komoroski said Sunday the group approached Cavs principal owner Dan Gilbert about the partnership and called the business venture "an exciting new opportunity."

Gilbert's role in overseeing the organization and 20,000-seat arena will not be affected by the new partners.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, the Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported the sides had a tentative deal in place. But in recent days, paperwork was completed between Gilbert and the consortium. It will now be sent to the league office for approval.

Huang and others in the group attended Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland. On Friday, they sat courtside and watched James hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the final second to give the Cavaliers a 96-95 win and even the best-of-seven series which resumed Sunday night.

If approved, the deal would provide marketing opportunities for the Cavaliers and James, who is eligible to become a free agent in the summer of 2010. The 24-year-old MVP, who is already among the league's most popular players in Asia, has stated he wants to become the first billionaire athlete. His brand overseas could be enhanced by playing for a team with Chinese business partners.

There has been ongoing speculation that James will leave Cleveland to play in a larger market like New York or Los Angeles because of the vast business opportunities. But James -- and his corporate sponsors like Nike -- have broader goals and may be able to attain them by tapping into China's colossal consumer marketplace without him ever leaving Cleveland.

James has never given any indication he wants to leave the Cavaliers, who drafted the Akron, Ohio, native with the No. 1 overall pick in 2003. He won a gold medal with the U.S. team last summer at the Beijing Games and has made four trips to China, including one with the Cavs during the preseason two years ago.

Gilbert has been approached by outside investors in the past, but his original business group has mostly remained intact since he bought the Cavaliers and the rights to operate their arena for $375 million from former majority owner Gordon Gund in 2004.

Gilbert purchased the team with several other investors, including longtime business partner David Katzman, R&B superstar Usher and others. Gund maintained partial ownership.

However, in the past two years, Katzman has decided to focus on other business interests and the Chinese group would essentially take over his percentage of the Cavs.
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#94 Rookie34, May 25, 2009
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veryfree said:

You are so brain washed.
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wrong, apparently you don't remember when yao was drafted he had to be approved by the CBA and chinese government first. same thing with yi jianlian.

#95 jose, May 25, 2009
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jose said:

wrong, apparently you don't remember when yao was drafted he had to be approved by the CBA and chinese government first. same thing with yi jianlian.
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So what? The main thing is... It's Yao's decision to stay, the Chinese government can't force him to go to another team... so that settles this thing. You already said he isn't going to play for another team.

#96 ItsMyFault, May 25, 2009
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ItsMyFault said:

So what? The main thing is... It's Yao's decision to stay, the Chinese government can't force him to go to another team... so that settles this thing. You already said he isn't going to play for another team.
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whenever he signs a new contract with a team it has to be approved with them, same goes with trades.

point is there will definitely be pressure on him and he will not be free to go where he wants to, but in the end he will resign with houston.

#97 jose, May 25, 2009
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jose said:

whenever he signs a new contract with a team it has to be approved with them, same goes with trades.

point is there will definitely be pressure on him and he will not be free to go where he wants to, but in the end he will resign with houston.
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True... but he'll resign with Houston because he wants to... it's his decision to do that.

#98 ItsMyFault, May 25, 2009

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jose said:

whenever he signs a new contract with a team it has to be approved with them, same goes with trades.

point is there will definitely be pressure on him and he will not be free to go where he wants to, but in the end he will resign with houston.
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You are an idiot. What happened to Yi Jianlian, Menke Bateer who both got traded? Did those teams get them pre-approved by the CBA?

#99 wireonfire, May 25, 2009
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jose said:

whenever he signs a new contract with a team it has to be approved with them, same goes with trades.

point is there will definitely be pressure on him and he will not be free to go where he wants to, but in the end he will resign with houston.
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LOL your ignorance is beyond me...

#100 tsunami, May 25, 2009

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