OT - Pistons moving to Las Vegas?

Submitted by hockeyguy9125 on

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/14/nba-team-under-contract-if-…

This is out of the Las Vegas Sun. An investment group has (allegedly) a NBA Team under contract to move to Las Vegas pending the completion of a stadium. I do not know which other franchises in the league would be close to moving, but as a Detroit Sports fan, this really scares me. I am not a die hard Pistons fan, but I would seriously hate for them to move. Anyone else feeling the same way about this? Can anyone pull me off the perverbial ledge with another team that could possibly move?

UPDATE: http://detnews.com/article/20100715/SPORTS0102/7150452/NBA-denies-team-…

From DetNews, NBA denies a team is "under contract" for move to Vegas. Take that for what it is worth. It could be a situation like there is no "contract" but a verbal agreement might be in place. I do not think the NBA would confirm the original story even if it is 100% true.

joeyb

July 15th, 2010 at 11:05 AM ^

I'm not hoping that they move out of Michigan, but I am hoping that they move to Detroit instead of Auburn Hills. The traffic that it causes when I leave work on game nights can be somewhat ridiculous.

Wolverine In Exile

July 15th, 2010 at 11:54 AM ^

Maloofs have siginificant business interests (Palms casino) in Vegas and having their team there would more align those interests. Sacramento isn't exactly a burgeoning market for hoops, and word on the street is Maloofs want to get out of California from a business point of view anyway 'cause they got killed the last couple years with the tax hikes going on against upper income businesses. If they fully relocate to Vegas, they can clear another 10-15% just from the decreased taxes. Vegas is not booming in population either with all the real estate mess, but there is still a lot of money.

Additionally, Detroit is still a major media market (#11 in rankings I've seen), so even with the problems the Detroit area is having, the NBA would be brain dead to leave this market. Remember the Detroit media market reach is more than just Wayne County; it's Oakland, Washtenaw, Macomb, all of downriver, and out even to Flint and Lansing. That's tremendous reach and population. The largest media markets right now without an NBA franchise are Seattle-Tacoma at 13, St Louis at 21 and Pittsburgh at 22. NBA already tried and failed in those areas, so I think the Pistons are safe from a geographic move point of view.... i'd just be more concerned about the new ownership having enough cash to operate a franchise so that we dont 'become the Bucks or Kings.

jb5O4

July 15th, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^

I live in the New Orleans area and people don't really care about the Hornets. New Orleans can't sign any big name free agents because of the market size. I think they'll leave New Orleans within the next 5 years. Because of the saints I don't think anyone will be too disappointed.

BlueNote

July 15th, 2010 at 1:08 PM ^

Why would the Vegas people buy the Pistons?  The Pistons are too expensive.  The Pistons are the fourth most valuable franchise in the NBA, but they would lose most of that value (in the form of fans and their money) if they moved to Vegas.  Why not buy a cheaper team:

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/12/09/team.values.ap/index.html

The Pistons may be lagging, but they are still very valuable if they stay in Detroit.

And the fans in Vegas don't care where the team comes from -- which is why you want to buy cheap if you're the Vegas buyer.

FreetheFabFive

July 16th, 2010 at 2:36 AM ^

I doubt it.  The Warriors are a cash cow in the Bay.  They were 11th in the league in attendence last year and they sucked.  If they were actually decent and had a superstar to base their team around, they would be raking.

FWIW, the Pistons were 8th in attendence and they were worse.  They aren't going anywhere.