CBA Owner Isiah Thomas "signed a letter of intent"
yesterday to sell the league to the NBPA, according to USA
TODAY's Greg Boeck. Neither Thomas nor the NBPA would
comment on the potential sale, but the NBPA "is expected to
make an announcement today." Boeck writes that the CBA
"could provide a ready-made infrastructure in case of a
lockout or strike" when the NBA's collective bargaining
agreement expires in either 2004 or 2005 (USA TODAY, 6/28).
In Ft. Wayne, Fury CFO Rich Coffey said that four groups
"expressed interest" in buying the CBA -- the NBPA, a group
of former CBA team owners, an unidentified investment
banking firm and a group investing money from the NFL's
pension fund (FT. WAYNE NEWS-SENTINEL, 6/27).
A SAFETY NET? ESPN's David Aldridge reported last night
that if the sale is approved "it gives the [NBPA] a viable
alternative the next time collective bargaining rolls
around. ... Now they have a league with infrastructure,
teams [and] arenas. The names you hear that might be
involved with this, guys like [News Corp. Chair] Rupert
Murdoch, guys like [BET Chair] Bob Johnson, they have the
... funds to buy a league and they have a network to put the
games on" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 6/27).
IS ISIAH PAST DUE? In Indianapolis, Gelarden & Horgan
report that Thomas "is seven months late in paying about"
$750,000 owed to former CBA team owners from his $10M
purchase last fall. The purchase included the nine-team
league and CBAP. While Thomas had no comment, CBA President
& CMO Don Welsh said that the CBA is "cash-strapped," but
adds, "However, at no time have we ever been in a situation
when we have been out of cash." Welsh "pledged" that Thomas
will pay the owners "in full." Gelarden & Horgan add that
Thomas paid $5M "up front," and "what is in question is
timely payment of so-called holdbacks, wherein a buyer and a
seller agree to allow the buyer to hold back part of the
purchase to cover unanticipated expenses." Besides the
holdbacks, there "are issues over unpaid expenses incurred
by the teams and the league" last season (INDY STAR, 6/28).
