Is your NBA team going to be up for sale in the next, say, 10 to 20 years?
If so, LeBron James may be placing a bid.
The four-time MVP told The Athletic’s Ken Berger that he plans to join the ownership ranks one day after his playing career is over:
Knowing that James had sometimes pondered the idea of team ownership, I asked if that would still be the case if he someday followed through on that vision.
“We’re gonna still be together,” he said. And, as it turns out, James hasn’t just toyed with the idea of owning a team someday. He’s borderline obsessed with it.
“I will own a team someday,” he said, with emphasis. “That’s my next thing.”
James goes on to tell Berger that he’s interested in team ownership mainly to stay close to the game after he’s done getting buckets. There also has to be a tinge of “Well, Michael Jordan is doing it, so I should, too” to his reasoning.
James already has the net worth to be a substantial stakeholder in a team, and he’ll probably have the assets to be the controlling owner in an organization at some point, if he doesn’t already. Question is: Which team? The Cleveland Cavaliers would be romantic, but James may ultimately render them too valuable for him to be more than a minority owner. And while it would be weird seeing him affiliated with another squad, Jordan owns the Charlotte Hornets, not the Chicago Bulls.
Sure, Jordan has ties to the state of North Carolina, but James is a savvy businessman. He won’t limit his scope of potential options just because the Cavaliers may not be available for purchase or out of his reach. If he says he’s going to own an NBA team, then we better damn well believe he’ll own an NBA team, even if his presumed first choice doesn’t manifest into a legitimate option.
