Minnesota Sports Forum

WolvesFan21 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:If an ownership group can buy the Wolves and move them for cheaper than the projected 2.5 billion expansion fee then they're gonna do that. I don't see expansion as protection for us. We would just move to Vegas or Seattle and the next city would pony up.

Is there anything about owners voting or Silver having any power to only allow expansion versus buying up Memphis, Cleveland, Orlando or MN and moving them?

Maybe we get bought out and we get the expansion team.

The owners have to approve any sale from one owner to new one. So yes, the League and Silver have a lot of power. Recall that the League's franchise relocation committee unanimously blocked the sale of the Wolves to a group that would have moved the team to New Orleans. That decision was based on the League's desire to keep a franchise in the upper Midwest. Note that there was no choice then between moving the Wolves versus getting a new franchise through expansion. The League now has an added $2.5B incentive to block the Wolves from moving because a move to one of the destination locations would effectively replace an expansion team. There are two markets that want an NBA franchise and that the League would like to be in - Seattle and Las Vegas. That's a total of $5B in revenue to the League's current owners. They'll strenuously resist any move that would cut that bounty in half. And that's in addition to the incentive they already have to keep a team in the upper Midwest.

There's certainly a chance the Wolves ultimately get sold to an ownership group that moves the franchise. But that chance is pretty slim. An ownership group that intends to keep the team here will emerge at some point. Even if the price is a bargain $1B, Glen and his heirs will walk away with a huge profit and Glen will have stayed true to his values and left his Minnesota legacy in tact.

lipoli390 wrote:

WolvesFan21 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:If an ownership group can buy the Wolves and move them for cheaper than the projected 2.5 billion expansion fee then they're gonna do that. I don't see expansion as protection for us. We would just move to Vegas or Seattle and the next city would pony up.

Is there anything about owners voting or Silver having any power to only allow expansion versus buying up Memphis, Cleveland, Orlando or MN and moving them?

Maybe we get bought out and we get the expansion team.

The owners have to approve any sale from one owner to new one. So yes, the League and Silver have a lot of power. Recall that the League's franchise relocation committee unanimously blocked the sale of the Wolves to a group that would have moved the team to New Orleans. That decision was based on the League's desire to keep a franchise in the upper Midwest. Note that there was no choice then between moving the Wolves versus getting a new franchise through expansion. The League now has an added $2.5B incentive to block the Wolves from moving because a move to one of the destination locations would effectively replace an expansion team. There are two markets that want an NBA franchise and that the League would like to be in - Seattle and Las Vegas. That's a total of $5B in revenue to the League's current owners. They'll strenuously resist any move that would cut that bounty in half. And that's in addition to the incentive they already have to keep a team in the upper Midwest.

There's certainly a chance the Wolves ultimately get sold to an ownership group that moves the franchise. But that chance is pretty slim. An ownership group that intends to keep the team here will emerge at some point. Even if the price is a bargain $1B, Glen and his heirs will walk away with a huge profit and Glen will have stayed true to his values and left his Minnesota legacy in tact.

That's what I thought. Thanks for the detailed explanation. It makes zero sense to allow a current team to move when two expansions are already on the table.

I just wouldn't get confident that expansion or the league are going to protect us. We have bad attendance and an new owner is looking at a billion to 1.5 billion in savings buying us and moving us versus getting an expansion team. There are only so many Steve Ballmer's in the world. Even Cuban on the BS pod was not pushing for immediate expansion. Those teams are years out and Glen has already started looking to sell. At the end of the day there will always be another market to put up the money. Seattle and Vegas aren't literally the only 2 options. I would put the chance at much higher than slim. We have every factor working against us right now.