Earlier this week, NBA commissioner David Stern argued publicly with the league’s players’ union about NBA owners’ claims that they had lost a collective $370 million last year. The league’s collective bargaining agreement expires next summer, and Stern is calling for ” fundamental changes ” on the owners’ behalf, including cuts to player salaries and to the players’ overall share of revenue.
If the two sides are unable to agree, the owners could lock out players and shut down the league next season.
In other NBA news, the
Associated Press reports
that a franchise just sold for a new league-record price:
Golden State Warriors owner Chris Cohan reached an agreement Thursday to sell the franchise for a record $450 million to Boston Celtics minority partner Joe Lacob and Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber.
The Warriors, perennially one of the league’s worst teams, were purchased by Cohan in 1995 for $119 million, and they made the playoffs only once under his ownership. They play home games on the West Coast, limiting their exposure to national audiences. Adjusted for inflation, today’s sale price—a sale price offered by a member of an existing NBA ownership group—means that the franchise had almost tripled in value, anyway.
