Blues and Kiel Center Owner Bill Laurie "dissolved" his deal to buy the Grizzlies yesterday, "citing the [NBA's] opposition to moving the team to St. Louis," according to Tom Wheatley of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Laurie, who said that he "had not given up on bringing an NBA team" to the Kiel Center: "I'm disappointed now. But anybody who knows me knows I'm not much of a quitter." Laurie revealed yesterday for the first time that his deal to buy the Grizzlies from Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment Owner John McCaw for $150M, plus an additional $50M if he moved the team out of Vancouver, "was predicated on the idea that they would move the team out of Canada." But the deal's fate "may have been sealed" back in October when several NBA team owners that reviewed the proposal said that they "would not recommend approval without safeguards that would keep the team in Vancouver." When Laurie met with McCaw and NBA Commissioner David Stern earlier this week, he was "convinced that they could not salvage the deal." Stern wanted Laurie to keep the team in Vancouver for at least five years. More Laurie: "I'm concerned about the fans of St. Louis. They deserve an NBA franchise. And I'm going to do whatever I can to accomplish that." But Laurie added there was "nothing on any burner" regarding a deal for another NBA team (POST-DISPATCH, 1/21). In Vancouver, Brad Ziemer cites sources who said that Orca Bay, which wanted between $20-25M from Laurie for pulling out of the deal, "did receive some kind of payment" (VANCOUVER SUN, 1/21). REAX: In Toronto, Grant Kerr writes that Suns CEO Jerry Colangelo and Lakers Owner Jerry Buss "were primary supporters of the Grizzlies' staying in Vancouver." Kerr notes that Laurie's next move may be to "seek" an expansion franchise for St. Louis due to the "resistance" he encountered while trying to relocate the Grizzlies (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 1/21). Stern: "I think it's fair to say that the deal as structured seems to have certain incentives to see the team moved without an adequate opportunity for Vancouver to prove that it is a place that an NBA franchise could stay" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/21). Grizzlies F Shareef Abdur-Rahim, on the failed deal: "I kind of feel bad that nobody wants us right now" (VANCOUVER SUN, 1/21).
