NBA rumors: Which team could be for sale this year?
By Colton Lowe
As the 2016-17 regular season comes to a close, there are rumors swirling that another NBA team could be on the market this summer.
Recently, on his radio show, Colin Cowherd gave listeners a little juicy rumor floating around the NBA. Cowherd mentions that an unnamed source, with close ties to the league, told him that an NBA team would be up for sale this off-season. Though it’s not official, Cowherd did go on to say that it was very close to happening and that it would be a team out of the Eastern Conference.
The NBA is a lucrative business. Take a look at Forbes’ valuation of each NBA team for 2017:
- New York Knicks: $3.3 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $3 billion
- Golden State Warriors: $2.6 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $2.5 billion
- Boston Celtics: $2.2 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $2 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $1.8 billion
- Houston Rockets: $1.65 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $1.45 billion
- Miami Heat: $1.35 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.2 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $1.15 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $1.125 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $1.1 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $1.075 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $1.05 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.025 billion
- Washington Wizards: $1 billion
- Orlando Magic: $920 million
- Utah Jazz: $910 million
- Detroit Piston: $900 million
- Denver Nuggets: $890 million
- Atlanta Hawks: $885 million
- Indiana Pacers: $880 million
- Philadelphia 76ers: $800 million
- Memphis Grizzlies: $790 million
- Milwaukee Bucks: $785 million
- Charlotte Hornets: 780 million
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $770 million
- New Orleans Pelicans: $750 million
The average NBA team is worth $1.35 billion! That number just continues to grow too, with the NBA’s global presence expanding as well.
The last three teams to sell: Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks, sold for $2 billion, $550 million and $850 million, respectively. We haven’t had a team for sale since 2015 though, and depending on which team it is, it could have quite the hefty price tag.
Colin Cowherd did give us a hint to which team it could be by telling us it was a franchise out of the East. That eliminates 15 teams right there.
Let’s take a look at the five teams most likely to go on the market this year.
5. New York Kicks
This might be a more of a stretch than the rest of the teams on this list, but it would be massive if this were to happen. The Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable team for the second year in a row, with a valuation of $3.3 billion. So, there’s not too many reasons why owner James Dolan would want to part ways with the Knicks. But, poor team performance, a screwed up front office and a disconnect from the fans could just be enough for Dolan to consider it.
There’s a website that Knicks fans launched back in 2015 called Knicks4sale.com, (which is no longer active) where they pleaded with Dolan to sell the team. There’s the more recent public encounter Dolan had with former Knick Charles Oakley, where Oakley was forcibly removed from a Knicks game. This whole episode has made Dolan even more unpopular with Knicks faithful. And of course, the team’s play is just awful. They finished 20 games under .500 this season, and it appears we’re headed for another off-season of drama. So, maybe as sale is just what the doctor ordered.
It would easily be the biggest sale in NBA history. If the Knicks were to be sold, it would have to be someone, or some group, with very deep pockets. Floyd Mayweather has been vocal about his desire to own an NBA franchise. He made a push for the Clippers back in 2014 and you’d think the New York Knicks would be right up his alley. But, he’d have plenty of competition. It would exciting to see how it would unfold.