If this were true, Les Alexander would not be alienating his customer base so vigorously. He has given fans nothing to pin their hopes on save an injury prone T-Mac and Yao Ming and a coach who likes old, hobbled players. It doesn't take much to fan the flames of optimism. Everybody is looking to John Lucas III and Steve Novak to be difference makers. That's all the new blood we have -- and we haven't even signed either of them yet. Les & crew have provided no vision, no plan, no results. And that makes us natives restless.
BAHAHAAHA, yeah, i believe he will sell it, but, but, but the question is could he sell it out or not? could he get buyer or not?? if he sell rox in 2005, it worth $300M, while if he sell in 2007, it only worth $30M, a 90% shrink in value. do ya think he will sell?? with yao and t-mac getting older year after year, and keep trade new faces out, what is your sell point, les? buyers buy potential, buy future, buy hope, but ****. then ask yourselves, what do u have then?
Farthest I've reached? It's not a reach , in fact it's one of the surest bets around. It's simple arithmetic. As Yao's career draws closer to its end, the less money he will make for a the franchise in the future, and the franchise's value will be discounted as such. Now it's possible that it will increase if Yao's value somehow increases even more - but the price of the Rockets franchise now necessarily includes the present valuation of future returns by Yao. Those future returns diminish each year. Now it is possible that Yao's future value is being underestimated by whatever component it is of a 500m figure -- so if, e.g., a second wave of Yaomania somehow sweeps the globe due to performance. It is also possible that Yao's future value is being overestimated, such as if the Rockets are mediocre for the next few years (like they were last year and seem to be heading towards) or if Yao is injured or traded or doesn't re-sign whn his extension is up. All other things being equal, however, the franchise value of the Rockets (with repect to potential future sponsorship revenues that can be directly tied in to Yao) is necessarily higher with a 26 year old Yao (because you have 8 years of Yao related revenue stream until he retires (assume he retires at age 34) than it is with a 30 year old yao (in which you have 4 years of Yao related revenue stream). Simple math.
I would hope that Les has some pride left. I would hate to be known as a person who purchased a very succsessful franchise and turned it into a mediocre team. I know that it should not matter to a bussines person but heck he should have some pride somewhere. Shouldn't he?
This is from memory, but it seems to me I read the value of a basketball team is generated from their arena and television deals as opposed to ticket sales and merchandizing. Is this correct? If it is, then Yao would not have as large an impact on the franchise value as one would think. Do the Rockets benefit from the television contracts in China? I would think they do not, and international television deals are struck with the league instead. Also, sports franchises aren't really the smartest investments for people interested in a return. It might be a good time to sell the Rockets, but I doubt many owners in the NBA bought their teams with the intentions of selling high. NBA owners are in it for the love of the game more than money.
I understand the Rockets got a new Arena recently and that is part of it, but from 2002 onwards their value has risen meteorically despite limited on court success, and suddenly Tsingtao pijiu is signing up sponsorship deals and their games are all over cctv5 - so even if it is just indirectly and perception based, the Rockets' value is increased - directly by sponsorship deals and ticket sales, and indirectly simply by the perception that they provide access to the a new fan base that has yet to be fully exploited. Well, the DJIA in 1993 when les bought the Rockets was around 3500. Today, following the most phenomenal growth period stocks have ever had, it's at 11,000, or approximately tripled in value. The Rockets in 1993 were purchased for 85 million, and are now worth an estimated 450-500 million. That's nearly 6 times the purchase price. 600% return, and doubling the Dow over a period of 13 years = a pretty smart investment.
I actually heard a rumor on Sports radio when I was out in LA for my cousins wedding a couple months back. It was mentioned that Magic Johnson was "telling people he would like to buy the Houston Rockets." They said Magic supposedly would go to $500 million, and that he has a personal net worth (at the time I heard this) of about $880 million.
It would be great for the Rockets if he did sell it; we've been a below-mediocre franchise for way too long, and it seems he has become really cheap in recent years.
