In Cleveland, Tom Reed wrote the “new reality” in the NBA’s Central Division is that aside from the Bulls, the “stars are few and the empty seats are many.” The Cavaliers (16,113), Bucks (14,878), Pacers (14,238) and Pistons (12,844) “rank among the league's bottom 11 teams in attendance.” No other division “has more than two clubs in the bottom third.” The Bulls and Pacers are “the only teams with winning records,” but there are “other issues ranging from an economic downturn to unattractive brands of basketball to lineups that no longer feature marquee names.” The Pacers are “starting to win again, but their issues are a bit more complex.” The '04 Pacers-Pistons brawl and “a series of off-the-court incidents tarnished the club's image.” In addition, the Bucks appear “to be a tougher sell” (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 2/19).
WALK ON DOWN: CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS’ Joel Hammond notes the Cavaliers are “seeing increased traffic at the box office and tickets on the secondary market are selling at double last year's price, as a confluence of factors has restricted severely the resale market for Cavs games.” The Cavs two years ago “canceled season ticket accounts of out-of-state buyers,” and a source said that this season “only 45% of the team's season ticket base renewed.” That combination has resulted “in a dearth of Cavs tickets available through resellers such as FlashSeats, owned by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, and StubHub.” Cavs Senior VP/Communications Tad Carper said that “walkup sales at the box office have jumped 300% this season” (CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS, 2/20 issue).
HARSH WORDS: CBSSPORTS.com’s Ken Berger writes the Lakers' front office “is an uncommunicative, rudderless fiasco, and the unrest and paranoia that have been festering for years threaten to derail the team's plans to ride” G Kobe Bryant to his sixth NBA title “while they still can.” Much of it “can be traced to the growing influence of executive vice president Jim Buss, the owner's bon vivant son, who has helped transform a great franchise into a steaming pool of nepotism and nincompoops.” The Lakers are “a mess, have been decaying for a few years now.” Once one of the “finest and classiest organizations in sports, it is no longer a fun place to work, to put it mildly” (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/21).
LET'S GET TOGETHER: In Memphis, Kyle Veazey noted Grizzlies Owner Michael Heisley is “forming a local board of directors to help shape the current -- and, perhaps most important, the future -- of the city's pro sports franchise.” Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Kevin Kane said that he “was approached by Heisley at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day game against the Chicago Bulls to serve on the board.” Some members of the board “had dinner together at FedExForum before the Grizzlies-Spurs game on Feb. 6.” Heisley on Friday said that the board “is still coming together and its membership has not been finalized.” Kane characterized the other members of the group “as prominent business leaders, some of whom have been tied to the team before” (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 2/18).
