SeaTown81":nrns9pg4 said:
vedthree":nrns9pg4 said:
2. If the Sale's rejected, then the real fireworks begin - because that's when both the Maloofs' & H/B/N can file their Anti-Trust cases. And then the true genius of the back-up offer comes into play. Maloofs still own them and are now flush with cash to operate a lame-duck franchise for 1-2 seasons, and Sacto's arena deal still evaporates. Then H/B/N just sit back and let the Maloofs do the dirtywork of Bennetting the team out of Sacto next season. (not to mention Hansen has ROFR as minority owner if the NBA is stupid enough to try and keep the local ownership group in play)
That's the Ace H/B/N slammed on the table - "Swallow your medicine, take a PR hit you can quickly recover from and give us the Kings now ... or sit through 1-2 years of Sacto getting the same scorched-earth treatment Seattle got while it also hits your bottom line in revenue sharing & TV negotiations - your choice."
But here's where I don't get too excited about this. HBN still would need league approval to become minority owners. If the NBA denies the primary sale agreement, I can't see how they'd just then go and say "OK, sure. No prob," to HBN becoming minority owners with a clear agenda. If the Maloofs and HBN can't force the NBA to let them become partners, I don't see how they hold any sort of leverage.
Props to Laloosh & Hawkfan who pretty much covered it - but yeah, there's a lower burden in the Bylaws to pass for purchasing the minority share, and the NBA would have an even harder time rejecting it. (Remember, the HBN group was vetted & pre-approved by the NBA before they placed
any offers on the table)
Most importantly, they'd be
blatantly interfering with the Maloofs' ability to operate their own franchise. That's the one thing all the legal experts can agree on - the NBA can't force the Maloofs to sell, and trying to strong arm them is a clear cut Anti-Trust violation. To reject the minority sale, the NBA basically admits that they're attempting to steer the Maloofs to the Sacto bid .... and that hands the Maloofs & HBN their Anti-Trust case on a silver platter. (And forces the other Owners to vote for the precedent of having the NBA decide to whom and for what price they can sell off parts of their
own teams to in the future)
Dammed if they do, Dammed if they don't - Hansen has them bent over a rail. And he used their own Bylaws and self-interest to do it .... Gawd DAMN, I love this guy.
We joke about the NBA making up the rules as they go along, and that's true
to an extent - they play with deadlines, have "recommendation" votes, etc ... but eventually they have to enforce their rules as written. One of the main justifications for the NBA (NFL, NHL, etc.) being able to operate as de-facto monopolies is because they are supposedly capable of "fair" self-governance under strong sets of Bylaws & CBA's. So when push comes to shove, if the NBA doesn't ultimately follow those Bylaws in approving the Sale, it can blow up big-time in their face if/when it goes to Court.