Knicks · Wait? What? (page 1)

A Wall Street Insider Thinks James Dolan Might Consider Selling The Knicks
#NEW YORK KNICKS
ROBBY KALLAND 09.11.17
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With the Rockets selling for $2.2 billion to Tilman Fertitta, more than half a billion more than their 2017 Forbes valuation of $1.65 billion, it’s clear that the market for NBA franchises has never been bigger. Now that Houston is off of the market, the Nets are expected to be the next team to change ownership as Mikhail Prokhorov has reportedly been shopping the team to overseas buyers in China.

While the Nets would be an unsurprising team sale, the other New York franchise would be a stunner, but there are some on Wall Street speculating that James Dolan listening to offers for the Knicks (or Rangers) could be a possibility.

According to BTIG’s Madison Square Garden analyst Brandon Ross, the sale of the Rockets for $2.2 billion could spark interest in Dolan to at least consider offers to sell the Knicks.
As Marketwatch notes, Dolan is keenly aware of the decline of the cable TV bundle as the former owner of Cablevision (which he sold recently) and MSG and MSG Networks, and, thus, he knows the dangers the collapse of the cable bundle has for sports television rights to decrease.

“Today’s monetization system, the one we’ve had over the last 20 years… Where 90 something percent of the American public who has television pays for ESPN whether they watch ESPN or not, right?” Dolan said during a future of sports content panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. “All of that advertising, if that system falls apart, which it looks like it is starting to erode now, it will not even come close to that kind of production of rights value and that’s really the thing we will all have to grapple with.”
With the NBA’s latest TV rights deal causing franchise valuations to skyrocket, it’s possible that Dolan could see this as the perfect time to get out before the bubble bursts and the decline of cable TV leads to a smaller rights deal in the future. As to whether he would sell the Knicks or the Rangers, because NBA teams are so much more valuable, Ross notes that it’d be far more lucrative for him to cash out on the Knicks should he decide to only sell one of the teams.

“Given Dolan’s views, we would think he would have to consider at least partially monetizing MSG’s sports interests (even with the Knicks at a competitive lull), if not now than in the near- to medium-term,” Ross wrote. “The largest dollar upside would clearly come from selling all or part of the Knicks.”
At a $3.3 billion valuation in the latest Forbes estimates, it’s conceivable, as Ross noted, the Knicks could fetch a record $4 billion price tag.

Should a group be willing to pony up that kind of money, it would have to force Dolan to consider selling the team and, in turn, delight Knicks fans that have loathed Dolan for nearly two decades.

Moonangie wrote:^^^ THIS is what I want for Xmas, Santa! PLEASE!!!! I will be a good boy FOREVS!

OMG - I would take this one thing for my next 5 Christmases combined

arkrud wrote:So who will actually buy? Apple, Amazon, Comcast? This is bad investment.
The bubble is inflated so much that even idiot can see the writing on the wall.
Hopefully Dolan will be able to find some sucker...

Some billionaire with too much money. As long as it's not Trump how can it get any worse?

Gudris wrote:Maybe we can create our own company and buy knicks ? How many knicks fans there is out there ? Is 100$ per fan is enough 😃

Buying is the easy part, their all those Knick fans would have to decide what to do...

meloshouldgo wrote:

Gudris wrote:Maybe we can create our own company and buy knicks ? How many knicks fans there is out there ? Is 100$ per fan is enough 😃

Buying is the easy part, their all those Knick fans would have to decide what to do...

But this will be real Socialism.
Sure way to lose $100 each...

arkrud wrote:

meloshouldgo wrote:

Gudris wrote:Maybe we can create our own company and buy knicks ? How many knicks fans there is out there ? Is 100$ per fan is enough 😃

Buying is the easy part, their all those Knick fans would have to decide what to do...

But this will be real Socialism.
Sure way to lose $100 each...

I am willing to part with a lot more than that if it means getting rid of Dolan and Melo in the same year. Gotta take chances for things you believe in.

EnySpree wrote:4. Billion dollars? That's a lot of change. Be careful what you wish for. People with that kind of money aren't to be trusted. We could get something far worse

Exactly what I am thinking - someone or a group with that kind of money - they will be dumber and more evil than Dolan.

EnySpree wrote:4. Billion dollars? That's a lot of change. Be careful what you wish for. People with that kind of money aren't to be trusted. We could get something far worse

Anyone but Dolan! (Someone needs to put that on the front of a cap)

EnySpree wrote:4. Billion dollars? That's a lot of change. Be careful what you wish for. People with that kind of money aren't to be trusted. We could get something far worse

Exactly. Dolan sucks, but imagine if he sucked this bad but was also cheap and was purely in it to make money. I think there is a sliver of Dolan that cares and wants to win, but for a +/-million ego-related reasons, can't make the right decisions to let that happen. Someone like Jerry Reinsdorf would be much worse than Dolan.

Vmart wrote:Didn't he Bucks owners daughter want to buy the Knicks. Maybe there is some truth in that.

NYKBocker wrote:

Vmart wrote:Didn't he Bucks owners daughter want to buy the Knicks. Maybe there is some truth in that.

Oh my god....please don't tease me.

I'd let her treat me like Anucha Browne Sanders