FanPost

A moment of insanity.

No deal yet.  Owners offer 47% and float the idea of a guarantee of 49% and a max of 51%.  Offer is floated and not formal and shot down before getting anywhere.  Players supposedly countered with min guarantee of 51% with a max capped at 53%.  It's still a pretty big gap, but nothing I've heard in a while has been that creative.  What I propose is the players accept 50/50% split and ownership of the Hornets

I'm no legal expert so I imagine there would be some hurdles, but the league owns the Hornets.  Transferring that ownership to either the NBAPA or a new private corporation that could be set up for the sole purpose of running the Hornets seems feasible.  The owners get a good deal for 6-10 years and only really take a one time loss of approx $10 million each.  Forbes had the Hornets valued at approx $280 million last year and there are 29 other owners so that math isn't too hard to rough estimate.

 

The owners do it because a one time loss for a 10 year gain is pretty reasonable and if one team is going to struggle economically it's the Hornets.  Having the players take on this burden would help then understand the actual finances involved in running a small market team.

The players do it to save the season, their paycheck and as a long term investment.  They also do it to get a better sense of the economics of the league and the profitability/viability of the league.  Lastly they do it because they have the combined wealth to do it and it's their first step in taking the league back from the owners.

Side effects.  It wouldn't surprise me if New Orleans quickly became a hot spot for FA signings and national TV interest.

 

Any chance of happening?  Probably not, but what say you.....