Marcin Gortat: I will always call Washington DC my home.4 out of 5 years in playoffs. Division champs and a lot of great memories.One thing has to end to start another.I wish @Washington Wizards @MonSportsNet @TedLeonsis all the best and I hope to see u in NBA finals one day! PolishHammer pic.twitter.com/F527Kp1LIp
Ted Leonsis Rumors
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld received a contract extension months before the team concluded its inconsistent 2017-18 season and bowed out in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs as the eighth seed. When reached for comment, a spokesman for majority owner Ted Leonsis and his company Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which runs the Wizards, declined to address the terms of the deal. According to a person close to the situation, however, the Wizards offered the extension in the fall.
Leonsis sees the NBA as a platform, like Facebook — “the good Facebook,” he said Monday morning. And he expects 2K teams will become part of that platform, both as a revenue-generator and a content-provider, along with an owners’ NBA, WNBA and G League teams. “In the short term, it will help us in marketing and help us be more relevant to a younger audience,” Leonsis said. “It will also help us globally. The Twitches and YouTubes are unwired, and available to people around the world.”
“eSports will be a boon for traditional media,” Leonsis said. “The two drivers of revenue and fan affinity will be digital sports and digital gaming and gambling. Outside of the U.S., digital gambling is accepted. You go do digital gambling like you would go to a Starbucks … if you look at things like Draft Kings, if you put a virtual team together, you watch all of the games. You’re really interested. When casual fans bet on games, like the NCAA Tournament or the Super Bowl, the viewership stays really high.”
Candace Buckner: #Wizards majority team owner Ted Leonsis comes into the locker room after the win (haven’t noticed that all year). He sees Wall heading to the showers. Leonsis: “Welcome back, John Wall.” Wall: “Appreciate it, OG.”
Ted Leonsis: RIP Tom Benson, owner of the Pelicans and Saints—and bastion of New Orleans community. A great man and great leader, one of a few that owned multiple teams in different leagues. See obit here. nba.com/pelicans/obitu…
