Bradley Handwerger / WWLTV.com Sports Reporter
Email: bhandwerger@wwltv.com | Twitter: @wwltvsports
An NBA official said a long-term lease deal with the state could happen at nearly the same time as the NBA sells the New Orleans Hornets, both occurring possibly as early as the beginning of March.
That paralleled what NBA commissioner David Stern told TNT's David Aldridge in an interview on the league’s website Wednesday.
“We’re very close,” Stern said. “We’re moving on dual tracks with a buyer and with the state’s contribution under a new lease that will likely be complete – both of those – by March 1 or on or about March 1.”
Senator J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, said there likely will be enough support in the legislature for the discussion to be much more brief than debate on education and retirement.
But, he cautioned, “the devil is in the details.”
“We have to see what the plan is going to be, what it looks like, how it’s going to be paid for and if it’s something that’s workable, the support is there,” Morrell said.
The NBA bought the Hornets for nearly $300 million from then-owner George Shinn in December 2010 when he couldn’t afford to keep the franchise any longer.
Stern said there won’t be an out-clause in the new lease, which he labeled as including a “very fair contribution by the state.”
Newly-elected Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, believes the Hornets are vital to the community and state and is “very optimistic” about the two sides coming to a deal soon.
“The Hornets are very important to maintaining us as a big-league city and I think the Legislature will be very receptive to it,” Alario said.
He added, “I feel very optimistic about it. I think we will keep them. I think all the pieces will come together and we’ll see the Hornets play here for a long time.”
Stern said there’s one potential buyer “in the lead” with another awaiting movement one way or the other.
Since the original sale, New Orleans has turned completely over. It traded All-Star point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers in return for an unprotected first-round draft pick (which L.A. got from Minnesota) along with guard Eric Gordon, frontcourt stalwart Chris Kaman and young, athletic forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
Forward David West elected to sign in free agency with the Indiana Pacers instead of re-signing with the Hornets.
And in this lockout-shortened season, the Hornets have started roughly, tied with the Wizards for second-worst in the league with a 7-25 record.
That hasn’t kept buyers from showing interest, Morrell said.
“I know that there's a lot of interest, a lot of different groups locally that are looking to purchase an interest to keep the Hornets here and it's great to hear their persistence has paid off,” he said.
Regardless, Stern said he wouldn’t do anything differently in regard to the league buying the team.
“I think we had a city that had stood by us and we by it, the state had supported us and we it and we had an owner at the beginning of a season who really was tired and without the resources to continue,” Stern told Aldridge. “And so we stepped in rather than make it a free-for-all.
“I wanted to do it in an orderly fashion and I think we did.”
--WWLTV Northshore Bureau Chief Doug Mouton helped with this report.
