NBA Franchise Notes: Comcast Has No Plans To Sell Stake In 76ers

Comcast Chair & CEO Brian Roberts yesterday said that the company has "no plans to sell its majority ownership stakes" in the 76ers or Flyers because of the economy. The comment was in response to a question at Comcast's annual shareholder meeting (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/14). Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Frank Fitzpatrick wonders, "Why, in a city convinced it's a great basketball town, have the Sixers -- and the Warriors before them -- had such trouble filling their arena?" Pro basketball "drew erratically here even when our teams were annual contenders and two of the game's most dynamic attractions -- Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving -- wore the local colors." The NBA "sells better elsewhere, even in places like San Antonio and Phoenix," and maybe Philadelphia is "not a basketball town after all" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/14).

Morey Says Rockets Have Been Less Affected By Economy Than Other Teams

SLOW-MOTION OFFENSE: Rockets GM Daryl Morey in an extensive Q&A with ESPN.com said "each team is going to be affected differently" by the economy. Morey: "We've been affected less. One reason is because Houston's economy has been more resilient, since it relies more heavily on the energy industry. Two, it's because our team is performing well." Morey contends a "free agent who before was going to make" $5M per season "might get [$3-4M] in the environment coming up." Morey: "We may see some of the environment that we've seen in baseball last offseason. No one wanted to take a deal below what they could have had in the year prior, so they kept waiting for someone else to be the first to sign. ... Players, player agents -- no one will want to be the first one to sign" (ESPN.com, 5/12).

TARNISHED GOLD: In Oakland, Monte Poole wrote outgoing Warriors Exec VP/Basketball Operations Chris Mullin's first priority with the team was to "restore the credibility lost under the decade-old ownership" of Warriors Owner Chris Cohan. But the "last traces of the credibility gained with Mullin leading the basketball operation are gone" now that new GM Larry Riley has "completed his meteoric rise from buddy of head coach Don Nelson to Nellie's boss." Poole: "The NBA rolls its collective eyes" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 5/13).