Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have for some time been clear on their vision for growth, one that wishes to see more teams brought in to their portfolio.
Having been owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team since 2002, FSG then acquired Liverpool in 2010 and a stake in the RFK Racing NASCAR team, before taking full control of the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL outfit in November of last year in a deal valued at the time at around $900m.
The Reds owners have stated previously that the NBA would be a move that they would look to make in the future, with much of the noise centred around the two expansion franchises that are to come online, potentially in the next two years.
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At present the NBA has 30 teams but there are plans to extend that to 32 with expansion franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas likely to carry a price tag of around $2.5bn (£2.3bn), a sum that would be split among the 30 current teams as a sweetener given that they would have to share the media rights package with even more sides.
The idea that basketball icon, current Los Angeles Lakers player and one per cent FSG partner LeBron James would helm such a move after his playing days came to an end is one rooted in reality, with well placed sources telling the ECHO that such a move would be a natural progression for James given his long-held ambition to be an NBA team owner, as well as the relationship he has fostered with FSG, along with his business partner Maverick Carter and 11 per cent FSG stakeholders RedBird Capital Partners.
Las Vegas has been the preferred location for an FSG move into the NBA, the 'entertainment capital of the world' as it has been coined, offering bountiful opportunity in recent years with a number of major sports franchises opting to put down roots in the Nevada desert, with the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team arriving in 2020 from Oakland, the Vegas Golden Knights NHL team arriving as an expansion franchise in 2017 and Formula One landing a race in Vegas from 2023.
The building of a $3bn entertainment complex by Oak View Group, which would include an NBA-ready arena, was seen as a major draw and FSG have been hotly tipped to be leading the race when it comes to who gets the keys to a new franchise in the city.
But events over the past week have likely provided some food for thought among FSG ownership in Boston, with the Phoenix Suns being placed on the market by their owner Robert Sarver following an NBA-commissioned report that detailed repeated acts of racism and misogyny at the organisation. Sarver's decision to sell the team, which Forbes have placed a value estimation of $2.5bn on, means that a scarce asset, an NBA team for sale, is now in play and likely to attract a lot of interest.
Well placed sources in the US have informed the ECHO that while the focus remains on acquiring an expansion franchise in the NBA the opportunity that has arisen with the Suns is likely one that FSG will assess as to whether it has the same scope for future growth. The ultimate goal is an NBA franchise that can aid the growth of the business and that can be developed into a successful team, and being opportunistic is something that FSG will have to consider.
The Suns have long been a mid-ranked NBA team in terms of attendance, last season averaging around 16,500 at their Footprint Center home, which has a capacity limit of just over 17,000 for basketball. They have never won an NBA Championship but have been on an upward trend in recent times, winning the Pacific Division in each of the last two seasons as well as clinching the Western Conference title in 2021.
But it isn't just boasting stars like Chris Paul and Devin Booker and having a team that many believe to be Championship quality for 2023 that makes them appealing, but also the fact that they represent a city of 1.6m people, the biggest city in the state of Arizona.
There is also a scarcity value to the Suns being in Arizona due to the state rules on online betting. A Suns purchase delivers what few NBA teams can have at present; an online sports betting license. Arizona is one of the few states that grant sports betting licenses to professional sports teams and that has the potential to be of significant value to any would-be owners.
FSG's focus on an expansion franchise and Las Vegas remains intact, but the developments of the past week in the US seeing Sarver press ahead with selling both the Suns and the WNBA franchise the Phoenix Mercury means that it is something that won't have gone unnoticed as FSG chiefs continue to work to their 'FSG 3.0' plan, where the addition of more sports teams is a key part of the plan for accretive growth.
The Mercury sale by Sarver also may pique the interest of FSG given that the wife of FSG principal John W. Henry, Linda Pizzuti Henry, herself an FSG partner and the CEO of the Boston Globe newspaper, was part of a $75m capital raise involving a number of investors back in February.
Much will depend on the timescales for Vegas for any kind of decision, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver stressing earlier this year that no expansion of the NBA would be imminent and the consensus being that it will be at least a couple of years away. FSG will likely take a look at Phoenix, as they have done previously with the Minnesota Timberwolves, before deciding on how to play their NBA involvement.
One potential stumbling block would be that James does not wish to call time on his illustrious career and head into the boardroom just yet, the 37-year-old hoping to hold out long enough to play professionally with his son, Bronny, a highly rated 17-year-old high school prospect tipped for the NBA.
Earlier this year James told the Athletic : "My last year will be played with my son. Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point."
Coincidentally, Bronny James' godfather is one Chris Paul, point guard for the Suns.
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