The Magic "took a leap of faith" by signing free agent F Grant Hill to a seven-year, $92.88M contract over the offseason, and if Hill's "fragile left ankle does not mend properly, the franchise could suffer a financial free fall," according to George Diaz of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Because Hill's left ankle was broken last season and termed a "pre-existing medical condition," the Magic were not able to secure any insurance liability for Hill when they signed him. Therefore, the Magic will pay Hill his share of the contract's first-year money, valued at $9.6M, and then "hope that Hill earns his market value next season and beyond." Magic GM John Gabriel "declined to get into specifics of liability issues and contract guarantees if the injury becomes career-threatening" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 12/30).
THE BOYZ IN THE BOBBLE: In Minneapolis, John Millea reported that the T'Wolves drew a season-low crowd of 14,779 for Monday's 3:30pm ET game against the Rockets at Target Center. The team's previous low was 15,229 for a game against the Nuggets on November 29. T'Wolves CMO Chris Wright said that the team "requested the afternoon start in the hopes that it would be as popular" as games held on Martin Luther King Day (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/2). In other news, Steve Aschburner wrote that about 35 "phony slips were used" to get bobblehead dolls during Thursday's promotion against the Hawks. The team's marketing staff "will alter procedures for the final two giveaways" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 12/31). In St. Paul, Robbi Pickeral wrote that bobblehead dolls of Gs Chauncey Billups and Terrell Brandon and F Wally Szczerbiak were all "selling for more" than $80. Wright said that he had seen one Szczerbiak doll "sell for more than $100." Wright: "The problem we had in the initial two [bobblehead giveaways], what we found out is that a lot of dealers are going to ebay before the promotion even runs, and they're offering up a potential doll at ebay at a certain cost to see how much they can get" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 12/31).
CUTTING BACK ON COMPS: The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Liz Mullen reports that though publicly released figures show NBA attendance is down, Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban and NBA Senior VP/Marketing & Business Operations Bernie Mullin "claim that gate revenue and ticket sales actually are up." Cuban said because there are fewer free tickets this season, "the reported attendance numbers you see are much more relevant this year than last." Cuban: "There has been a conscious effort on the part of the Mavs and other teams not to give away tickets" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/1 issue). Meanwhile, in L.A., Lonnie White noted that the Clippers may be finding an audience in L.A., as the team averaged 11,370 for their first eight games at Staples Center, but have averaged 15,458 over their last five, including 20,327 for Saturday's game against the Lakers (L.A. TIMES, 1/2).
NO CHANGES TO ROCKETS' CHARACTER: In Houston, Jonathan Feigen noted that despite being recently labeled as the "worst uniform" in the NBA in SI For Kids, the Rockets have no plans to change their look. Rockets VP/Marketing Elaine Sullivan-Digre: "We haven't had discussions about changing our uniforms. We don't hear anything negative about our uniforms" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 12/31).
