I am both confused and befuddled by the recent hoopla over the supposed sale of the Charlotte Bobcats.  I don’t think it’s been confirmed by the league or any of the parties involved.  An announcement of George Postolos’s group buying the team and leaving it open for Michael Jordan and whatever group he has in place to match his offer seems a bit premature.  It’s been going on since May.

The story I’ve heard from my own unnamed sources, legit however, unnamed because it was just a friendly discussion with an amateur blogger (me), I heard that in the summer a certain reporter called a banker in New York and simply asked “Do you represent Bob Johnson in any sale of the Charlotte Bobcats?”  Well, if there were to be a sale, he certainly would.  Thank you very much, story, ran, printed, circulated and dissected in the world of NBA writers and the blogosphere.

Not that the sale was imminent, not that there was an offer received, let alone accepted but that there was a banker in New York that represented RLJ Companies if the Bobcats were to change hands.  This is hardly breaking news.  So the story played and played that way all summer.  No party coming forth to confirm nor deny the claim and possible suitors coming and going like pizza delivery guys.

I’m not saying that I have insider info or I know what will happen.  No one is telling me anything.  This is meant more as a condemnation of the type of reporting rampant in the league even within the umbrella as small as the one over Charlotte and the Bobcats.  There are only a handful of regular beat writers for the Bobcats.  There are hardly any on a national scale.  If you get bored in the summer months, don’t make up a story and then watch it play.

Ric Buecher picks up the story yesterday, unsure where his sources lie but he has “confirmed” from several “close” to the parties involved.  He also said via Twitter:For those who care: sources say Bobcats’ sale should go through this month. George Postolos has made an offer, Jordan has Feb to match.

For those who care Ric?  Get the gel out of your hair and listen: there are teams outside of the Northeast, Texas and the Lakers.  Why would you post a tweet and an article on ESPN.com if you assumed no one cared?  Ric’s sources, I have a feeling, are former Charlotte Hornet’s GM Carl Scheer.  I read this 2 or 3 weeks ago on insidehoops.com.

So my questions are:  why not full disclosure?  Why not sit down with the involved parties and get their quotes on record?  This “He said/She said” Entertainment Tonight/Inside Edition journalism doesn’t have a place in sports, in my opinion.  Say what you heard, say who you heard it from and confirm it.  You learn it in Journalism 101, if you go to class, which I didn’t.

It’s all rumor and conjecture and all these guys are hoping for self-fulfilling prophecy.  Bold move to step up and say “The Bobcats are for sale!”  Then “George Postolos is buying them!”  And finally “Michael Jordan has first refusal and an agreement to match any offer!”  Now it’s “Offer has been accepted Jordan 30 days to match!”

If it doesn’t happen, no one remembers that you were wrong or even worse that you lied and you’re a crappy journalist.  If you’re right you say “Told you so.  Another one confirmed by Sleuth Sleuthington!”

I get why this is salacious; we’re talking about the greatest basketball player ever, the first African American billionaire and an NBA franchise.  The problem I have is why it even matters to begin with.  Sure, the guy owns the team, signs the paychecks, hires the office folk and has final say on basically everything; but I’m on message boards, searching, reading, talking, cheering and paying a hunk of my measly income to get to go watch “his” team.  It’s my team, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more games than Bob Johnson and Michael Jordan combined!

Just watch and wait and most of all please be careful what you read and believe.  They don’t get paid to get it right they get paid to get people to read their stuff.

Welcome to Michael’s Minute, where BCP checks in with Bobcats Director of Corporate Communications Michael Thompson. We’ll be doing this regularly throughout the season. Today we get into Larry Brown, the TV Situation, the possible sale of the team, and more.

BCP: Bill Ingram from Hoopsworld says Larry Brown is quote “livid” the team hasn’t signed a Power Forward. With his candid past, is there any concern about the Front Office being badmouthed by the coach?

MT: One interesting thing I’ve noticed over the last 18 months about the way the national media covers Coach Brown is that a lot of what they write or say is presumptive. I think they sometimes feel like Coach has been around for so long that they already “know” what he’s thinking on a given topic, and they can write or say that without ever actually hearing him say it. They figure that if he felt a certain way on a given topic back in San Antonio 20 years ago, then he must feel the same way today. If he “badmouthed” the front office at one of his previous teams, then the perception is that he must be “livid” about the situation here.

Yes, Coach is a straight shooter, but to the best of my knowledge he has never “badmouthed” the Bobcats’ front office. In fact at Media Day he remarked at how different the roster is now in comparison to a year ago, and when answering a question about additional roster moves he said that it’s great to have players that other teams want. He asked for guys that play his style of basketball and he’s getting them. At camp last week he looked focused and energetic as we would expect, but he seemed to be enjoying things as well, and the whole camp had a really good vibe about it. I expect that to continue into the season, and I expect us to continue to look at the roster and find ways to get better, because that’s what Coach Brown is all about.

BCP: Do you know what TV companies are carrying the Bobcats this year besides TWC, Dish Network, and DirecTv, and what if anything can the Bobcats do to resolve this issue?

MT: To date, the following cable providers have opted to carry the broadcasts of our games on Fox Sports Carolinas and SportSouth; Time Warner Cable in Charlotte, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Raleigh and Winston-Salem; Mi-Connection in Mooresville; SkyLine Communications in West Jefferson, NC; Southern Coastal Cable in Georgetown, SC; AT&T in Charlotte, Raleigh and Columbia; and Comcast in Charleston. Satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network have also opted to carry our games in the NBA-designated inner market, a roughly 75-mile radius around the city of Charlotte.

Here’s the thing that everyone has to remember about our games appearing on television: we don’t get to decide where they air. When we sold our broadcast rights to Fox Sports Net we gave up that right. But a big factor in our decision to sell our rights to FSN was the promise they made to make our games available to every cable and satellite provider in North and South Carolina, and they have done that. Unfortunately, not every provider wants to give our games to their subscribers and that’s where the problem lies. As an organization there is not much we can do – what kind of leverage does an NBA team have with a cable provider in Greenville or Myrtle Beach? The people with the most power in this equation are the subscribers of the providers that have made a decision to not carry our games. In the television industry, change is usually a product of consumer demand. When enough subscribers call and email and threaten to leave, providers tend to listen and make changes. We saw it happen with a couple of providers last season who finally got on board after enough subscribers said they wanted to see our games. Subscribers have more power than anyone, and the best we can do as an organization is to give them the information they need to have an informed and intelligent conversation with their provider.

BCP: Is Managing Member of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan going to have a more active presence at games this year?

MT: I don’t think I’m supposed to take this question literally because there’s really not much Mr. Jordan can do to “have a more active presence at games” other than what he’s already doing: sitting in his courtside seats and sharing his opinions with referees or trying to rattle opposing players with his legendary ability to, shall we say, engage in dialogue with them.

I’m guessing that the real question is more about his public presence at team functions. On Draft Day he handled media availability after the selection of Gerald Henderson. A few weeks later Rod Higgins and team president Fred Whitfield hosted a fantasy camp for premium Season Ticket Holders who renewed by a certain date, and he attended both the morning and afternoon sessions of that event. When it makes sense for him to do something in public he has always been eager and available to help out. But appearance just for the sake of appearance isn’t the best use of his time. He’s an owner, not an employee, and his area of interest is the basketball operations side of our company so that’s where his focus is every day. He and Rod are on a roll right now with the drafting of D.J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson and the trades that brought Raja, Boris, Vlade and Gana to us. I think the best thing he can do for the Bobcats is to continue to make decisions like those and put a great product on the court.

BCP: Will the Bobcats introduce any extra social media guidelines outside of those handed down by the NBA?

MT: I’m not aware of any restrictions on our players using social media outside of the guidelines established last week by the league. We have a couple of tweeters in Nazr and Gerald Henderson, and bloggers in Tyson and Gerald Wallace, but other than that we don’t have a lot of guys who operate in the social media world right now.

BCP: Is the team still for sale, or has Mr. Johnson taken it off the market as indicated by The Charlotte Observer?

MT: The lesson here is tried and true, but worth repeating: don’t believe everything you read or hear. Newspapers, radio talk shows and television news programs are all in the same business: sales. Their product is information, and they profit when they “scoop” the competition on a story. The problem, of course, is that in an environment like that the emphasis is far greater on being first with news than being right with news. In this particular story there’s one really important piece of information that seems to be missing: at no point did Mr. Johnson ever come out and say he was selling the team. The local newspaper’s stories (and subsequently everyone else’s because they all stemmed from what they read there first) were all based on the word of an unnamed source. Mr. Jordan remains the only person who has gone on record in this whole saga, and he confirmed an interest in increasing his share of the team. Everything else you’ve read and heard on this topic is simply rumor or speculation. But when the goal is to post the story first, even if it’s based entirely on the word of someone who refuses to be named (and therefore refuses to be held accountable when the information turns out to be less-than-accurate), then we get “he’s selling” and “he’s not selling” stories sitting, literally, side-by-side in the same news outlet. So as long as it’s more important to be first than to be right, Bobcats Sports & Entertainment will continue to refrain from commenting on rumors.

The Charlotte Bobcats news feed is sort of sparking up, yeah…a buzz is happening this week. Dog days of summer and all of a sudden hey now, Bobcats. It’s on the heels of a few Tweets, twits, I swear, somebody tell me what to call those things. I don’t get on twitter.com. It’s interesting because these guys are breaking their own stories. AI says “Charlotte, New York, Miami” and the world breaks loose. Then he says something about he’s not worried about the money, worried about getting a championship. Good for AI. We have 2 small guys who don’t pass the ball great for a PG, thanks.

Larry Brown said as much. Money, playing time, bad attitude. No, I added the attitude part. Allen Iverson is a solid player. He can still get to the basket and if he doesn’t he’s got a nice shot. He’s never been known for making anyone better. He’s probably not the Answer for the questions we have here in Charlotte. I would like to go ahead and say I don’t really like Allen Iverson. We have 2 young small guards most likely on the up and up. We have Raja Bell who can put in 25 occasionally. I just don’t see the draw, or appeal. I wouldn’t turn the guy away for the veteran minimum. Detroit did well with him, or without him. Don’t forget he got Keyshawned last year. He was pissed because he didn’t get playing time. He and Richard Hamilton had a little contest to see who would come off the bench and who wouldn’t and who could complain in the media the most and whatever. Go home and don’t come back, we like Rip and you are done anyway…get out!

AI is a hall of fame career guy. Like I said, I wouldn’t turn him away. Bleacher Report is saying it’s a done deal:  Officials with one of his endorsers, Reebok, have told league executives they believe Iverson will eventually sign with Brown in Charlotte. That’s been A.I.’s preference too.

I don’t take Bleacher Report any more seriously than I take myself.  Especially since they didn’t give credit to the same article they are pulling from which to me says that no one believes that it’ll go down like everyone thinks.  Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski plays it down pretty heavily.  Larry Brown as the most quotable coach in the league has become “the clearinghouse” for all things AI.  So, bottom line: someone will sign AI and that includes the Charlotte Bobcats.  Translation: the Bobcats are somebody.

Ownership, much in the same way, the Bobcats will be owned by somebody.  Whether it’s Michael Jordan and a group of investors (who knew MJ didn’t have the cheddar all by himself?), George Postolos (respected but again, CEO of a group), Bob Johnson or any number of a group of 5 bidders, it’s up in the air right now.  I have no idea, and believe me I’ve looked, where this story broke or how it got hot this week but it’s out there.  ”Soon” is what they were saying Tuesday.

I went through a whole thing a year ago, researching and trying to figure out who Bob Johnson was.  Turns out he’s a rich guy who wanted to own the Washington Wizards, couldn’t and was awarded the franchise here in Charlotte.  He made an early impression of saying he was dedicated to the city and the team, turns out he moved a bunch of guys from Washington down here and he was rarely in town or attached to the team.  It just hasn’t worked for him or us.  He announced or it leaked from the firm trying to sell the team (could you imagine being a broker like that?), that he was unhappy, didn’t feel it and wanted to sell.  Dude is buying up stuff like it’s his job.  He’s one of those investors that gets involved in a bit of everything.  He was awarded a special thing where he could buy troubled assets or something under the TARP, I don’t know exactly but the guy has a lot of irons in the fire and honestly I wish him well, but get out.  Go home and stay away from my Bobcats.

Alternately, Rick Bonnell posted that he may be taking the team off the market.  Wow, so the Observer is reporting the team could be sold “soon” and that it might be taken off the market, at the same time.  That’s like the episode of Family Guy where Peter stays in the house while Meg and Lois are on spring break and another family moves in because the bank foreclosed.  Can’t do both.

I want resolution but with no games for the next 2 months, I don’t see anyone under any duress to sign a guy or buy the team or decide he’s not selling.  It’s the “no-answer” answer.  My grandfather used to give it when you’d ask him something in his last months:  ”Whatever….”

In the Carolinas, much of the basketball discussion has drifted from NCAA tournament glory for the Tar Heels, NBA playoff failure for the Cavs, and the rise of Dwight Howard, to the revalation that the much maligned Bob Johnson is selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats. On the message boards for Rick Bonnell’s Inside the NBA, which is normally a rat’s nest of complaints, there was a joy like I have never seen before. Nearly everyone on Bobcatsplanet seemed shocked with excitement. About the only person who isn’t on Cloud 9 is our beloved coach, Larry Brown, who is worried the next owners might cut out Michael Jordan. But what if, just what if the next ownership group was led by Michael Jordan? That’s where the title comes into play here.

When Mark Cuban took over the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, they hadn’t had a winning season since 1989-1990 and acheived their first playoff berth in 11 years. He created a party atmosphere at the team’s arena, and became the most hands-on owner in all of sports. While he was initially rejected, he has done more for basketball since coming into the legue than any other owner, and probably more than David Stern. He listened to fans suggestions and improved the fan experience, making his team one of the most visible not only in the NBA, but in all of sports. When one thinks of Dallas sports, behind the obvious Cowboys, the Mavs are right there. Before Cuban took over, they were just an afterthought, much like the Bobcats are today. He put them into the forefront of playoff discussion every year, and they’ve made the playoffs the last 9 years, each season Cuban has been there. He has marketed his star Dirk Nowitzki, and when he lost semi-star Steve Nash, he quickly eliminated any backlash through his blog by telling the whole truth and nothing but it. While some would argue his brash style and multitude of incidents (which has him holding the record for fines in NBA history) is what caused the horrible officiating in the Heat-Mavs finals, considering what he did to get his team there I don’t think you can complain too much if you’re a Dallas fan. His twitter, mcuban, has a huge following and he has casual fans watching his team’s games just because he’s Mark Cuban.

There are some eerie similarities in this storyline. If MJ were to buy the Bobcats, the team would have the same take-charge style owner who isn’t afraid to get down on the first row and scream at the officials with every word in the book (which any Bobcats fan will tell you has happened more than once). This team has the pieces to make the playoffs this coming year, and with a little help could go farther than anyone outside of the Charlotte metro area expects. MJ would likely bring back the Hornets-style atmosphere that many long for where the season ticket holders know each other and walk-up single game tickets are a rarity. MJ brings credibility within the local area, and his drive to win is unparalled in anyone I’ve ever seen in sports. I can only compare it to Peyton Manning, and it’s better than that. He is the only person I know who took being inducted to the Hall of Fame as a slight, and becoming an owner would likely reignite that fire, especially with his good friend Larry Brown on the bench. He’d put the Bobcats right up next to the Panthers, he’d make sure their tv deal got fixed, and I doubt Larry brown would have to complain about bad officiating anymore. At least, that’s if MJ is the same guy I remember. I don’t know if he is, but if he’s anything close to the guy Larry Brown says he is, then this team needs him in the worst way. He has good relationships with most if not all of the players, and he could likely save the team a few bucks in contract negotiations just like Cuban has.

Now I don’t know how much money he has, or if the rumor about him putting a $250 million dollar offer in is true, but if it is, then I’m begging Bob Johnson to accept it and cut his losses. Or to go golfing with MJ, and we can give Bob some kids clubs. Just as long as MJ gets the team, because I can’t think of anyone else who would take this team where it needs to be right now. But as always, I’m open to suggestions.

This just in, Bob Johnson is seeking a buyer for the Charlotte Bobcats. If you have several hundred million dollars to spare ( and we know that you do ) then give Bob a buzz. According to reports, he has “lost his passion” for being the owner of the Bobcats… I guess it just doesn’t give you the same rush that the Jumper Classic does.

Charlotte Observer – Rick Bonnell

Charlotte Bobcats majority owner Bob Johnson has stepped up efforts to sell the team, recently hiring a sports investment banker to look for a buyer.

Sal Galatioto, president of New York-based Galatioto Sports Partners, confirmed to the Observer Thursday that he’s representing Johnson in a potential sale. Galatioto declined to comment further on the situation.

…

Team spokesman Michael Thompson e-mailed the Observer Thursday to say Johnson was not available for comment. That same e-mail stated that Johnson’s company “does not comment on rumors.”

A source close to Johnson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “It’s true, he’s committed to selling the team,” adding, “He’s lost passion” for owning it.

Charlotte Observer – Tom Sorenson

Although the Bobcats have cost Johnson so much money he apparently is no longer a billionaire, he won’t sell cheap. Every really rich guy I’ve ever known looks at money as an end in itself: If he makes money, he wins; and if he loses money, he loses.

There is only one way for Johnson to recoup the millions he has lost, and that’s to find an owner who so desperately wants to play in the big leagues that he is willing to pay more than it is worth. Two years ago, such an idea was feasible. Now, it’s laughable.

Edit 5/22 – Although Bob Johnson won’t be missed by the majority of Bobcats fans, the fact that he is selling the franchise could have some negative on-court effects in the short term.  The thoughts of Westbrook08 in our forums:

This is probably really good news long term,but very bad short term.Most owners when they are in selling mode want to shed as much salary as possible before the sale,which means ray may not be back now,our draft pick might be gone to unload nazr’s contract,and we might not do anything but sign minimum contracts in a year when we could really get some good players on the cheap because of the economy.I hope that I am wrong, or that someone good swoops in really quick before bob sets us back to year one.

The playoffs back in those years between local NBA franchises were kind of fun.  The Hornets basically left town in 01-02, but that was my freshman year in college and anything cheap and different was awesome.  We got in to 3 Playoff games that year for $5 each, sure we were sitting in the top of the cavernous old arena but it was fun (covered sections and all), one of our favorite local bands, Weekend Excusion, would play pre-game in the parking lot and like I said, $5!!!  They won the first round series against Orlando and in the second round, the fate was sealed and the move was official.   It was still fun to go see those games and the Lakers were the cream of the crop, which makes it fun to watch the finals, even if it was NJ that were the sacrificial lambs.

The next year, I mean it was hard to follow because there was no easy team to root for.  Also, the NBA outlawed all NBA TV games in the Carolinas except nationally televised games.  This probably prevented a lot of people from following the Hawks or Wizards or someone but mostly, there was no regular viewing.  Playoffs came and went with the Spurs beating the Nets.  Whoopie!  Actually, that was the lowest rated finals until the ’07 finals, so no one really cared.

The next year they announced that we’d get a team and the owner would be this awkward little billionaire from Washington named Bob Johnson.  While we were waiting the NBA played on.  It wasn’t great but we kept up because these guys would be the competition next year.  Oh yeah, watch out league the BOBCats are coming.  Wait, did that guy name the team after himself?  Is Charlotte an area known for having Bobcats?  Other than the little bulldozers on the hundreds of jobsites in the area, not really.  It wasn’t great but Detroit played solid ball and beat the Lakers who became the Yankees of the NBA with Karl Malone and Gary Payton added to their crumbling, aging, argumentative roster.

The next year, finally we had NBA in Charlotte.  I had new roommates, we made sure to get C-SET, which sucked, except for Bobcats games.  Who would have thought a 82 game season could make a whole network?  Bobcat Johnson, that’s who.  5 years later and we’re still watching, it’s been a couple channel changes and 3 coaches, but we’re still kicking.

Anyway, the point is, this season was the best and closest for me to any postseason.  Missing it, legitimately, in the final week sucked.  Watching the playoffs this year feels cheap, hollow and honestly, I don’t care.  I don’t like any of the teams in it.  There is no underdog.  There is no great dynasty.  There is no supreme team that’s easy to hate but you want to see them collapse or something like those Lakers in ’04.  I’m not really even watching games.  Sure the Bulls/Celtics went 7 and 3/4 games but who cares?  I hate the Bulls for having the best luck ever in a draft lottery last year and we all hate the Celtics because they are the Celtics.

I’m a Bobcat’s fan.  I love the NBA, I love the players, I love the play and action but I am attached to the ‘Cats.  They aren’t in it, so why should I watch?

–BigCat Bobcat