The most interesting aspect of the linked article is that Ilitch's bid was roughly $350million. That's $125million less than the estimated Pistons' value by Forbes. It's also $100million less than what the Golden State Warriors sold for earlier this year.
For comparison sake (since the ABA/NBA merger of 1976):
NBA Titles
Pistons - 3
Warriors - 0
Conference Titles
Pistons - 7
Warriors - 0
Playoff Appearances
Pistons - 22
Warriors 8
In short, the Warriors have an NBA team. The Pistons have a brand.
Still, the far-reaching effects of the Great Recession make it a prime time to buy the Pistons. Attendance, while at or near the top of the NBA for a decade is now mired in mediocrity. The poor attendance, coupled with the lack of a marquee player, cheapen the franchise's value. Karen Davidson, in a desperate attempt to avoid paying taxes for her inheritance of the team, may actually lose money by selling now when the team's value is so low. If she pays the exorbitant inheritance tax and holds onto the team for... say 5 years... it's possible the value will rebound to the Forbes estimate of $475million or even higher.
I'm no multi-millionaire, but I call her decision to sell now pretty short-sighted.
I would argue that the Pistons have a near-elite "history" with two distinct periods of dominance.
ReplyDeleteThe "brand" isn't comparable to other sports franchises when they are down. Look at the strength of the Cowboys, or the Knicks, or U of M, or the Habs when they are down, compared to the crickets coming out of The Palace.
The other thing, is that there are really two driving factors for NBA value. One, is can you get the elite players to look in your direction. And two, is, if you build a winner, how much money can you make?
The Pistons have shown that when they are elite, the Palace will make a shit-ton of money. So this is good.
However, the superstars aren't looking at Detroit. They are interested in warm weather [Lakers, Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, probably Houston and Orlando], plus New York and maybe Chicago.
Therefore, there is a slightly higher degree of difficulty to win in Detroit [and Cleveland, and Portland, and Utah...]. I don't know much about Golden State, but all things being equal, would an NBA free agent rather live in San Francisco or Detroit?
Very true. Perhaps "brand" was an overstatement. I suppose I view them as a brand in the NBA, but that just shows how transient power is in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteEven when things were going well for the Pistons, they were not attracting top-tier free agents. They did land a few very good free agents (Dice, Chauncey), but the big stars look elsewhere. No glitz and glamor in the D.