In Boston, Frank Dell’Apa noted Celtics F Kevin Garnett last year decided to “chip in” as an investor with Serie A soccer club AS Roma. However, the NBA “blocked the move” because AS Roma Owner & CEO James Pallotta is a Celtics investor. An NBA source said, “If you enter into a business agreement with the owner of a team that doesn’t involve playing service, there are potential problems. Maybe not in this case. But there is a chance of, say, making a contract a lot larger.” Dell’Apa noted Heat F LeBron James is “allowed to invest in Liverpool because Fenway Sports Group has no connection with the NBA.” The source said, “With LeBron, there is no tie-in whatsoever, so it’s a different deal. It’s like having a business relationship with Nike. We make it simple -- you can’t have a business deal with your team, or any other team, because there is the possibility of an underhanded deal there. It’s pretty clear-cut.” Dell’Apa wrote, “There was hope for an exception to be made because Garnett’s investment would have been drawn from a blind trust administered by his attorney. But the NBA said no dice” (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/5).
ROCKY ROAD: In Denver, Troy Renck noted Rockies Owner Dick Monfort on Friday wrote a letter to season-ticket holders, explaining that the team's front office shakeup "will help" the team to improve. Monfort "pointed the finger at himself and said firings weren’t the answer.” Monfort in the letter said, “Our team record remains far below what we desire. I offer you no excuses and I also refuse to blame any one person. The team performance is our problem, and we are going to fix it” (DENVER POST, 8/4). In a separate piece, Renck wrote since the death of Rockies President Keli McGregor in April ‘10, GM Dan O’Dowd “has been spread too thin.” O’Dowd “absorbed some presidential duties while also trying to serve as a traditional GM.” Monfort had “no intention of canning O’Dowd,” so O’Dowd “proposed the realignment of the front office” (DENVER POST, 8/5).
