HoopsHype.com Rumors

GS Warriors owner Joe Lacob on his plan to finance a $500 million arena with no taxpayer money at Piers 30-32 in San Francisco: "You don't achieve success by standing still. You really have to place a few bets." Sulia

Golden State Warriors, Joe Lacob, Owners 

Matt Steinmetz: Warriors serious about getting out of Oakland. They've made lapel pins with 2017 on them. The year they want to be in SF. Twitter

Golden State Warriors, Owners 

Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who have owned the team for 18 months, have made no secret of their desire to move to San Francisco. The team has held three major press conferences in San Francisco and neither has denied interest in relocation from Oakland. The plan would be to build a state-of-the-art arena at Piers 30-32, currently being unused at the time. The goal would be to move into the building by the start of the 2017-18 season. The press conference is expected to be held at this site. CSNBayArea.com

Golden State Warriors, Joe Lacob, Owners, Peter Guber 

Matt Steinmetz: Larry Ellison walked away from developing Piers 30/32. Indicated regulations were too onerous. Long, long way to go at this location. Twitter

Golden State Warriors, Larry Ellison, Owners 

Tom Benson's business portfolio is bursting at the seams these days. He has expanded into television, film, real estate and now NBA basketball in the past four years. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Owners, Tom Benson 

Benson could not expand on his plans for the Hornets management structure, because he has not officially taken ownership of the team. But it's clear that (Dennis) Lauscha and Mickey Loomis, the Saints' executive vice president and general manager, will have major roles with the Hornets. Loomis will likely oversee basketball operations, with the Hornets' -general manager reporting to him. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Owners, Tom Benson, Dennis Lauscha, Mickey Loomis 

From ordering lockouts to scheduling Christmas Day games to determining who has power and who doesn’t, nothing of consequence in the NBA ever happens without David Stern calling the shots. On that last front, the league’s 30 general managers lost a good deal of power this past week when the NBA announced that a new “competition committee” that includes select owners, GMs and coaches will decide all future rules changes, along with other potential modifications to the game. New York Daily News

CBA, David Stern, Owners 

Previously, and for what seems like the last 25 years, rules changes were the exclusive domain of the league’s general managers. Owners and coaches were not a part of the process. Unless the GMs wanted to make a change, it never got to a vote. But in recent years, that system had not been working for Stern. So he ordered the change. This was a commissioner-driven production, even though the league made it a point to announce that its owners called for the change. According to ownership sources, they did, but only after Stern first went to them and told them he wanted a new, smaller committee that would implement the changes he is seeking before he retires. He has told friends he’s probably going to step down after two more seasons. New York Daily News

CBA, David Stern, Owners 

The new committee was hand-picked by Stern and consists of two owners, four GMs and three coaches. When they come up with rules changes, those will go directly to the 30 owners for their consideration and vote. The members are: owners Dan Gilbert (Cleveland) and Joe Lacob (Golden State); GMs Bryan Colangelo (Toronto), Mitch Kupchak (Lakers), Kevin O’Connor (Utah) and Sam Presti (Oklahoma City); and coaches Rick Carlisle (Dallas), Lionel Hollins (Memphis) and Doc Rivers (Boston). New York Daily News

Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Doc Rivers, Mitch Kupchak, CBA, Sam Presti, Bryan Colangelo, Dan Gilbert, Kevin O'Connor, David Stern, Joe Lacob, Lionel Hollins, Owners, Rick Carlisle 

“Stern is looking for more control,” said a source. “He hasn’t been able to get some things done because he’s had to deal with 30 general managers and he can’t control them. But now he has his people on the committee.” New York Daily News

CBA, David Stern, Owners 

According to Coon, the Kings were projected to be losing $15-16 million under the previous collective bargaining agreement. But by year three of the new CBA: …instead they would turn a small profit. So it would make them profitable if they’re well managed, which for a team that’s really been in financial dire straits for a little while, this could make a big difference. Cowbell Kingdom

CBA, Owners 

Jason recently spoke with NBA Commissioner David Stern and he comes on the BFT to reveal what he learned from his interview. He talks about the rumors surrounding Paul Allen possibly selling the Blazers. He reports that Paul Allen told the commissioner he does not want referrals for possible buyers. He discusses why Commissioner Stern believes that Paul Allen is as motivated to win as he has ever seen him. Jason also provides an update on where the Blazers are in the team’s general manager search. KXL.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Paul Allen, David Stern, Owners 

Michael Cunningham: NBA fines #Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35k for publicly criticizing officials and negative comments about KG Twitter

Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Kevin Garnett, Owners, Michael Gearon Jr 

According to The Times-Picayune, Benson reiterated his wish to change the current team’s name from Hornets to the Jazz or something more reflective of New Orleans. The city had the Jazz for five years — from 1974-79 — before folding up its tent and moving to Utah. “I’m going to ask all of you to help me with this, too,” Benson said. “We want to change the name from Hornets . . . . to something that means New Orleans and Louisiana. The ‘Hornets’ doesn’t mean anything.’ ” Deseret News

New Orleans Hornets, Owners 

The NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets have been sold to Saints owner Tom Benson for a price sources said is $338 million. Benson is the sole owner and no partners are involved. "I'm not too good with partners," Benson said. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, Owners, Tom Benson 

Ken Berger: For now, the #NBA has fronted about $200,000 to pay for environmental reviews and the like. Twitter

Owners 

Ellison, the Oracle founder, has made no secret of his desire to buy a team and move it to the San Jose area. He tried, unsuccessfully, to buy the Warriors, tapping out when the price got too rich for even his blood. (By the way, don't get it twisted; it's not that he didn't have the $450 million that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid for the team, it's that he didn't think the team was worth that price.) And he acknowledged looking into the Hornets as well. The fact that he's still looking for an NBA team will no doubt make the league happy, and highlights that Heisley is still actively looking for a buyer. Heisley has said time and time again he wants to sell to someone who will keep the team in Memphis, but any talks with Ellison are sure to stir up the agita down south. NBA.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Larry Ellison, Owners 

No one doubts that Ellison has the money -- "if Larry Ellison wants to buy a team, he can buy a team," said a former NBA team executive of the man Forbes Magazine says is the third-richest in the country -- or doubts his intentions. The problem for Ellison -- unlike any of the other prospective buyers, which include a group headed by Grizzlies minority owner Pitt Hyde, the founder of the AutoZone parts company -- is that Memphis protected itself against just such a scenario when FedEx Forum was built in 2004. The city negotiated a series of painful buyouts for any owner seeking to break the lease. The original cost to break the lease was $175 million, according to a source with knowledge of the agreement, but that price has dropped in recent years. NBA.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Larry Ellison, Owners 

According to the source, the only way the lease can be broken is if the team fails to meet certain benchmarks in either attendance, suite sales or club seat sales at FedEx. If the Grizzlies fall short in any of those categories -- starting next season, according to the source, if this current season is counted as a "full" one -- the city and surrounding county would have two months to make up the shortfall. If they failed to do so, Heisley could sell the team, though Memphis would still have the right of first refusal to match the sale price. If that didn't happen, the team could end the lease and be free to leave, provided the current (or, presumably, new) owner paid up in full. It is onerous. NBA.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Larry Ellison, Owners 

David Stern tonight on #Cavs owner Dan Gilbert being a lightning rod for controversy with his e-mails and letters: "I like Dan a lot. In my pastoral role, I’ve suggested that he should always do a first draft and then put it in a drawer for a while or show it to his wife before he lets it go. But other than that, you’ve got to love him. And actually because of that, you’ve got to love him." Sulia

Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, David Stern, Owners