NBA Franchise Notes: Walsh Blamed For Mishandling Marbury

Walsh Thought Marbury Saga Would Work Out Differently

CATS OUT OF THE BAG? In Charlotte, Ron Green Jr. examined the future of pro sports in Charlotte, including that of the Bobcats, under the header, "What Will Charlotte's Sports Future Look Like In 5 Years?" Charlotte-based Private Sports Consulting President Max Muhleman: "It seems like to me that within the next five years, [Bobcats Owner Bob Johnson] will either sell the franchise for someone to move or move it himself. Losing money is never fun, no matter how much you've got. He has made a major effort here. I think it's precarious" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/28). Also in Charlotte, Rick Bonnell responded to Muhleman's comments and wrote, "I respect him greatly. However, his comments disregard three factors that could be significant in any effort to move this team." The team's lease with Time Warner Cable Arena "includes perhaps the toughest relocation penalties in the league," and "where would you move an NBA team right now that would guarantee profitability?" Also, the NBA is "less than happy with how the Bobcats have been run," and when Johnson earlier this year "publicly called out the Charlotte business community in the Observer, he made no friends in the league office" (CHARLOTTE.com, 11/28).

SEASON'S GREETINGS: The Magic are the only NBA team that will play on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve this season, and in Orlando, David Whitley wrote Magic C Dwight Howard is the "unwitting turkey here." Howard has "evolved into the kind of player TV can sell," and TV "really wants to sell itself on holidays." Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of the team's schedule, "It's a little strange. I know it's all about TV, but at some point you'd think you wouldn't have to play both Thanksgiving and Christmas and you can get a holiday with your family" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/27).

NOTES: In Chicago, K.C. Johnson reported the Bulls are "working under the assumption they'll travel to at least London" for training camp prior to the 2009-10 season as part of the NBA's Europe Live program, though the league office has yet to release an official schedule. It is unknown whether the Bulls will travel to other European cities or how many games they will play (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/30)....In Toronto, Steve Simmons wrote since Raptors President & GM Bryan Colangelo's "big splash of a first season" after joining the franchise in '06, the team has "retreated back to the middle of the NBA, in that basketball no-man's land somewhere between pathetic and legitimate." Colangelo "needs to do something to show the Raptors aren't headed towards irrelevance" (TORONTO STAR, 11/30).

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