Smart move, Bob Johnson.
[URL=http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/basketball/nba/charlotte_bobcats/16310130.htm][B]Bobcats owner blocks donation[/B][/URL], Charlotte Observer
I read that this morning and was blown away. Just yet another reason for me to absolutely detest the NBA. Yes, I know this was a decision made by one owner and not reflective of the entire NBA but Bob Johnson still represents it. With the egos, overpaid solo-acts, outrageous ticket/concession pricing, ridiculous marketing, brawls on the courts, etc., this is just one more reason for me to find the NBA to be a complete turnoff.
This was a very bad move for Bob. He had a great opportunity to do something the entire community would find appealing and he dropped the ball. Refusing to be part of a charitable venture is just really, really bad business. If I were Sabates, I would ask to be bought-out and have nothing else to do with that organization.
What do you expect from an out of town owner? He could care less about the city of Charlotte.
When he was awarded the franchise he had never even been here. At least Larry Bird came and started doing things in the community. Oh what could have been with Larry…
Johnson is trying to run a business. Maybe he has legitimate concerns that this will be bad for his business overall, even though there could be some goodwill if the share was donated.
that does it. i am never watching the bet again.
Sabates is a businessman himself. I wouldn’t bet the farm that he is the good guy in all of this.
Looks to me as if he wants to dump a bad investment and cut his losses.
The fact that a non-profit would have access to private business records is reason enough for me. If Felix wants to give the money away then sell is stake and give away the money. It sucks, but from a business aspect it makes sense. I do not like Bob Johnson, but I can understand where he is coming from. The real question is to ask Felix why he doesn’t just sell the shares, if he wants out.
I don’t think Sabates wants out necessarily… if he transferred his shares to a non profit, then the non-profit would have a continuous cash flow coming in. If they own part of the team then in a way it’s like the team donating every year.
This is a bunch of bull to me… AND it’s just another reason that i will NEVER go to a Bobcats game… Right now, in my mind, Johnson is no better than Shinn.
[QUOTE=WBNiner;207072]The fact that a non-profit would have access to private business records is reason enough for me. If Felix wants to give the money away then sell is stake and give away the money. It sucks, but from a business aspect it makes sense. I do not like Bob Johnson, but I can understand where he is coming from. The real question is to ask Felix why he doesn’t just sell the shares, if he wants out.[/QUOTE]
Felix doesn’t want to sell it…its beneficial for him from a tax standpoint to donate, not to sell.
Its big business between multi millionaires, nothing more…although it does look bad for Johnson, I can understand his decision and dont personally care too much either way.
The death blow for the Bobcats is their refusal to sign anyone of note, unless they are in the NBA Draft. That and this being their 3rd year of horrible basketball. Hey Johnson, spend a few bucks on quality players, win some games, and the money will roll in.
[QUOTE=Iron9er;207089]Felix doesn’t want to sell it…its beneficial for him from a tax standpoint to donate, not to sell.
Its big business between multi millionaires, nothing more…although it does look bad for Johnson, I can understand his decision and dont personally care too much either way.[/QUOTE]
What I am saying is if he really wants the non-profit to have the cash then he can sell the shares and donate the cash from the sale.
Johnson made the right decision. Too many legalities and loose ends involved in allowing a charity to hold a portion of the company. Sabates or whatever could just sell his shares to someone then donate the money to the charity. This way, he doesn’t have to cover any losses for the next five years, blah blah. I don’t blame Johnson for not wanting this to go through, there are so many potential issues with it.
The death blow for the Bobcats is their refusal to sign anyone of note, unless they are in the NBA Draft. That and this being their 3rd year of horrible basketball. Hey Johnson, spend a few bucks on quality players, win some games, and the money will roll in.
I don’t care either way what they do with their shares. Sabates signed a contract regarding how and when he can sell his shares, and they are sticking to it. That’s fine.
I think the Bobcats are doing the right thing by building up the team with young players. No one is going to go to the games in the beginning anyway, so why waste money on high dollar veterans? They also have a lower salary cap figure as an expansion team, so they don’t have the room for veterans. The first few years they have a low payroll because all the players are young or no good. Keeping expenses low when income levels are low is simply good business.
[QUOTE=Hollywood;207091]The death blow for the Bobcats is their refusal to sign anyone of note, unless they are in the NBA Draft. That and this being their 3rd year of horrible basketball. Hey Johnson, spend a few bucks on quality players, win some games, and the money will roll in.[/QUOTE]
Actually I think the Bobcats have done a pretty damn good job. What EXPANSION franchise has EVER had success with bringing in a vetern with a big contract who is supposedly “well-known.” Most of the time they either have to give away their future or current future for this player. It just spins them down in a spiral. Every good franchise has picked their spots in the expansion draft, (Bobcats got some good vets including Gerald Wallace), string together a couple of GOOD NBA drafts (Okafor ROY, Felton & May have proven to be good lottery picks, Morrison is still a Rookie but no doubt he can shoot the ball. I think the Bobcats are doing almost everything right. I dont’ think Bickerstaff is a good coach (and I would have him out) but he is decent for now. Another good draft with an immediate impact rookie that can be relied on late in the game and the Bobcats are a playoff team. Look at the Bulls when they had to rebuild, once Paxton got in office, he strung together good drafts (Hinrich, Gordon, Nocioni, Deng, Duhon) traded away hyped players Tyson Chandler & Eddie Curry, and eventually signed FA’s (Ben Wallace, etc.).
You also have to remember that they train in the Presbyterian Hospitals Training Center or whatever it’s called … I wouldn’t want Carolinas HealthCare to own a piece of the team either if I was the Bobcats, that causes conflicts of interest.
The thing is, this is the Bobcats third year, and they still struggle to win 20 games…IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE. Shit, even the Niners could win a handful of games in the Eastern, and we suck this year. By next year they should at least be able to make a playoff run in such an incredibly weak conference…and as for this year, they should be winning at least 30 games.
The practice shouldn’t be keeping expenditures low, but trying to find ways to boost income (i.e. winning games). How the **** does the team ever expect a return on their investments or build a fan base when they’re not battling for the Eastern Conference title, but battling to see how low their payroll can be? Yes, I understand the salary cap issues, but when they are allowed to spend freely (next season), they need to do so.
Bob Johnson does not care about winning. He is a businessman who has a lot of money to spend and pretty much bought the team to hand off to his son as a present one day. He got the city to buy him an arena and he is going to put a low budget team on the court to keep his profits up. With that, he is satisfied. He does not care about having a good coach or GM. Bickerstaff is terrible.
What could have been with Larry Bird. Instead we are stuck with the BET All star team featuring part owner Nelly. Great fit for America’s #1 domestic banking city.
I’m calling shenanigans on CHS. Probably a little gamesmenship on their part for all the times Novant filed Freedom of Information lawsuits against CHS.
who are the bobcats?
who are the bobcats?
thank you for showing us why exactly our school doesnt get coverage. people in north carolina dont give a crap about sports teams here unless they’re winning championships. i guess i was just brought up different…considering i was with the hurricanes since they moved to gboro, through the stanley cup loss, and the two worst team in the nhl seasons before the cup win, and with the panthers since they came here, going to every home game the 1-15 season AND the super bowl season (and every other season)…and i just bought my first bobcats tickets and i’ll be a fan there too win or lose…why? because it’s our team. other people might give us crap…but it’s our team, like it or not.