There are "four or five" parties interested in purchasing the New Orleans Hornets and keeping the team in the Crescent City, NBA commissioner David Stern told John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The NBA bought the Hornets from George Shinn in December 2010 as Shinn and the Hornets franchise experienced a level of financial duress.
Multiple Potential Buyers Reportedly Interested In Keeping Hornets In New Orleans
But don’t expect a sale of the team soon: Stern tells Reid the league will wait on resolution of the ongoing NBA lockout before offloading the franchise.
“We have four or possibly five buyers that engaged us about the purchase of the franchise to remain in Louisiana,” said Stern, who declined to identify them. “We have said that we’re happy to continue conversations, but we need to complete all of the things we’re working on and have a better idea on where the collective bargaining agreement is going to land.”
The NBA paid Shinn $300 million for the Hornets, with the unanimous approval of the league’s other 29 owners. Leaked financial records from 2008 and 2009 showed that the franchise had more than $100 million in debt.
Via Eye on Basketball.
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