Reinsdorf Talks NBA Economy, Business In Wide-Ranging Interview

Reinsdorf Says He Has No Plans To Stop As Bulls, Sox Chair

JUGGLING ACT: Reinsdorf said balancing the Bulls' momentum from their seven-game Eastern Conference quarterfinals loss to the Celtics with the "league projections of revenue and salary cap again decreasing" is a "real juggling act." Reinsdorf: "We're not betting on 2010. But we want to be in a position to do something significant in 2010. We want to be better in this season than we were the prior year. But we want to retain cap flexibility." When asked if buying the Bulls in '85 was his "best investment," Reinsdorf said, "If you take into account the Bulls also created the United Center -- you take the whole package -- yeah, probably." Meanwhile, he said of his business philosophy, "I'm a prototypical CEO. That is, I really have only three things to think about: public relations, long-range planning, and most important, identifying the jobs that have to be performed and hiring the right people for those jobs. ... I hire great people and let them do their jobs. It makes my job very easy. I just have to talk to them and have them keep me informed. You would be amazed of how much goes on that I don't know about. I tell them, 'If I don't need to know about something, then don't tell me'" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/21).

PRESIDENTIAL PITCH: Reinsdorf also touched upon President Obama wearing a White Sox jacket while throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at last week's MLB All-Star Game. Reinsdorf said of Obama, "He said to me, 'I gave you a lot of free advertising.' It's great. It's very uplifting for fans to think the president of the United States is a fan of the same team as they are. And nationally, most people think of the team in Chicago as the Cubs. Maybe that changed a little now when the president is wearing our jacket." More Reinsdorf: "There were people in St. Louis that weren't real happy he was going to wear our jacket. Some baseball people wanted an All-Star type jacket or even a Cardinal jacket. He said, 'I'm a White Sox fan. I'm going to wear my White Sox jacket'" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/21).

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