Big names seek interest in getting an NBA team in Las Vegas, and one name stands out.
Former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and his group recently announced an $8 billion bid to win the sweepstakes. They’re competing against Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, former Disney CEO Bob Iger, and the group led by Joshua Kushner and Magic Johnson.
Bill Foley (photo courtesy LV Sports Biz)
It’s hard to tell who the favorites are. You can make a case for any of them. It will come down to who has the money, as it always does in operating a business. Here’s hoping Foley has the money. He seems like the right choice to be the first owner of the NBA Sin City team.[/
What’s not to like about Foley? Here are five reasons why he is the right choice.
–He will hire the right people, as we see with President George McPhee and general manager Kelly McCrimmon overseeing his hockey team.
–He knows how to create a strong culture where employees are valued, helping attract NBA players.
–He knows the area well, having invested in the community for a long time, which matters for a fanbase that wants hope.
–He would likely spend money to win and invest in facilities. He’s a player’s owner.
–Most importantly, fans trust him since they know him.
Under normal circumstances, Colangelo would be the only choice, but there are drawbacks to him and his group. First off, do the rest of his investors really have the money? When you read that Vinny Del Negro and Jay Williams are in this group, it’s fair to ask how much money they may really have, not to mention what business experience they may have.
Jerry Colangelo (photo courtesy Las Vegas Journal-Review)
Then there’s Colangelo’s 76ers experience, which did not end well. The league assigned him to clean up the team’s mess after criticism for putting on a poor product in its attempt to tank. He didn’t have the stomach or patience to oversee that assignment. Besides, he used the team to get his son, Bryan Colangelo, to oversee the program. The younger Colangelo screwed up from the beginning by drafting Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons in consecutive No. 1 picks. His tenure ended after his wife, Barbara Bottini, created a burner account to discuss the 76ers’ business on Twitter, bashing players and Colangelo’s predecessor, Sam Hinkie.
There’s no way the elder Colangelo can sell his son to Vegas fans again after that experience. There’s no easy way the league can okay this one.
Colangelo is 86. Overseeing an expansion NBA franchise is going to be work. It’s going to take at least five years to build a playoff team, and it will take patience. At his age, this may be too much for him to handle. You can’t trust his group to get it right without any management experience.
Does Colangelo have the money to build an NBA arena? There’s another question they have to tackle. At least, Foley has the T-Mobile Arena to house an NBA team, and he appears to have the dough to renovate it into an NBA facility.
This is about who we know rather than who we don’t know. We all know Foley seems to have deep pockets, and he does little wrong with his ventures. He often looks for answers rather than having all the answers. We know he may never be satisfied with the status quo, given how many coaches the Golden Knights employed despite their success.
There is no reason to think Foley can’t learn about the NBA business. He can adapt quickly. If he can run an NHL franchise, he can likely run other sports franchises.
Colangelo may have the inside track, but Foley has the street cred to be the right guy. That is why the better transition from one point to the other points is to Foley.
This is not to say Colangelo would fail. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if he wins the bid, but Foley appears to offer more assurances than Colangelo.
From doing the tale of the tape between Colangelo and Foley, it’s hard to argue who should be the guy running Vegas’ NBA team.
