改变

Tom+Ziller

In 2010 and 2011， six NBA teams were sold. Since then， six more franchises have changed hands. Together， that represents 40 percent of the league. Yet， it does not appear a single NBA franchise is currently up for sale.

2010年和2011年，六支NBA球队遭到出售。在那之后，又有六支球队换了老板。加在一起，这意味着联盟有40%的球队出现过所有权变更。但是现在，没有一支NBA球队被摆上货架。

Is the NBA simply stable now？ Or are there other elements at play？

NBA就是稳定下来了吗？还是有其他因素？

The global economic crisis seemed to spur on at least a couple of the earlier sales in the 2010-11 sale boom， and at least one post-2012. That worldwide recession appears to have made luxuries like NBA franchises more like movable liabilities than must-have assets.

全球经济危机对2010-11出售潮中的一部分产生了刺激作用，同时也是2012年后一批球队出售的原因。全球经济衰退导致NBA球队这样的奢侈品更多地成为一种债务，而非必须拥有的资产。

Bruce Ratner apparently sold the Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov under some level of financial duress at he attempted to get his Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn done. Bob Johnson is the only NBA franchise owner in history believed to have sold for no profit — he unloaded the Hornets on Michael Jordan in 2010 as the team floundered. The NBA itself famously took the now-Pelicans off George Shinns hands in 2010， fearing collapse of the market and missed payroll. The Maloofs， who suffered mightily due to Las Vegas particularly acute downturn circa 2008， held onto the Kings until 2013， but eventually solid for liquidity.

布鲁斯·莱特纳显然是为了在布鲁克林完成“大西洋园”项目而遇到财务危机时才将篮网出售给米克哈尔·普罗霍罗夫。鲍勃·约翰逊被认为是历史上唯一一个出售球队时未能获得盈利的老板——2010年黄蜂跌入低谷时，他把球队卖给了迈克尔·乔丹。联盟也曾因为担心市场触底及无法支付工资而在2010年从乔治·辛手中接管了现在的鹈鹕。马鲁夫兄弟受到2008年开始的拉斯维加斯经济下滑的影响，尽管一直持有国王直到2013年，但最终他们还是为了变现而卖出了球队。

None of these franchise owners， with the potential exception of Shinn and possibly the Maloofs， were at risk of suffering so mightily during the economic crisis that they could have lost their teams to creditors. But the NBA teams represented unnecessary burdens in their portfolios.

除了辛及马鲁夫兄弟外，其他NBA球队的老板在经济危机中遭受的打击并没有大到需要将球队抵押给债权人的情况。但在他们的投资组合中，NBA球队意味着不必要的负担。

Two more sales stemmed from the deaths of longtime franchise owners： Bill Davidson in Detroit and Abe Pollin in Washington， D.C. Their wives elected to sell the NBA teams. Tom Gores ended up with the steal of the century in getting the Pistons and some real estate interests for $325 million in 2011. Ted Leonsis took the reins of the Wizards a year prior.

长期拥有球队的老板去世导致了另外两笔出售行为：活塞的比尔·戴维森和奇才的亚伯·波林，他们的遗孀选择出售球队。汤姆·格尔斯完成了本世纪最大的一笔打劫交易，他在2011年用价值约3.25亿美元的房产买下了活塞。一年前，泰德·莱昂西斯买下了奇才的股份。

The two other teams sold in 2010 and 2011 appeared to be your standard sports franchise sales： owners of weak teams decided it wasnt fun anymore. The Warriors sold in 2010 for a then-record $450 million. The Sixers were sold by Comcast-Spectator in the summer of 2011 for a much lower price.

2010年和2011年另外两支球队被出售，就是标准的运动球队交易行为：弱队老板认为持有球队不再有趣。2010年勇士出售时的4.5亿美元创下了当时的纪录，2011年Comcast-Spectator出售76人时的价格更低。

Ah， the summer of 2011. The elephant in the room.

还有2011年夏天，这个人人避而不谈的话题。

The 2011 NBA lockout cost just 16 regular season games in the end， but the stakes were extraordinarily high. The league claimed half the teams were losing money and no internal revenue sharing could help make every team profitable. Fearing a fully lost season and a loss at the bargaining table， the union folded in November and gave up roughly $300 million per year in players salaries. On paper， the second that deal was signed， every NBA team should have been able at least to break even while staying competitive in terms of payroll. Most teams should have been able to mint money.

2011年的停摆最终只导致16场常规赛取消，但这次停摆的风险却极高。联盟声称有半数的球队在亏损，什么样的内部收益分成也无法帮助每支球队盈利。担心失去整个赛季、害怕谈判失败，球员工会11月时终于屈服，放弃了球员每年约3亿美元的收入。从纸面上看，从协议签订时开始，每支NBA球队都至少能达到收支平衡，而且在球员工资水平上拥有同等竞争力。大多数球队应当盈利。

But the new profit security found in the labor deal didnt show up in franchise sale prices right away. The league finally found a local buyer in New Orleans for the now-Pelicans， and sold the team to Tom Benson at only a very minor profit. Robert Pera， a young Silicon Valley tycoon， won the Grizzlies for a modest $350 million — somewhat higher than what youd expect based on market size and recent sales， but nothing extraordinary.

但劳资协议中新的收入保障并不会立刻在球队的出售价格上得到体现。联盟终于在新奥尔良当地为现在的鹈鹕找到了买家，然后以极低的利润将球队卖给了汤姆·本森。年轻的硅谷巨头罗伯特·佩拉用3.5亿美元这个适中的价格买下了灰熊——考虑到球市规模和近期的出售情况，这个价格其实高于预期，但也没有高出太多。

Then the economic reality of the new labor deal and the new TV revenue paradigm set in， and all hell broke loose.

随着新劳资协议的经济现实和新电视转播收入计划进入事业，一切开始失控。

In early 2013， Chris Hansen， a man desperate to get a team back to Seattle， threw half a billion dollars at the increasingly desperate Maloofs. Vivek Ranadive somehow figured that he could make those numbers work in Sacramento， and won the NBAs support. That $535 million purchase price set a new NBA record.

2013年初，迫切希望将NBA球队重新带回西雅图的克里斯·汉森向日趋绝望的马鲁夫兄弟抛出了5亿美元。维瓦克·拉纳迪夫认为他能用同样的价格把球队留在萨克拉门托，他也得到了NBA的支持。5.35亿美元的成交价格创造了新的NBA纪录。

A year later， that record fell when Herb Kohl sold the Bucks for $550 million to out-of-town financiers. Those billionaires， Marc Lasry and Wes Edens， had no ties to Milwaukee but had determined that an NBA franchise based in Wisconsin was worth every penny ... plus a $100 million commitment for a new arena （presuming the public would kick in a big chunk， as well）.

一年后，当赫伯·科尔以5.5亿美元价格将雄鹿出手给密尔沃基市外的金融家，再次创造了纪录。马克·拉斯里和维斯·艾登思这些亿万富翁和密尔沃基不存在业务往来，但他们认为一支主场在威斯康星州的NBA球队值这么多钱……他们还要为新的体育馆额外支付1亿美元（假设还有更多公共资金注入）。

Later in 2014， TMZ blew up Donald Sterlings decades-long anti- stewardship of the L.A. Clippers by revealing him a scumbag racist （despite just about everyone who pays attention already knows him to be a scumbag racist）. After the league ejected Sterling from the exclusive NBA club， his estranged wife agreed to sell the team to Steve Ballmer for a new record price： $2 billion.

2014年下半年，TMZ通过曝光洛杉矶快船老板唐纳德·斯特林的种族歧视录音而解开了他长达数十年对快船疏于管理的现实（只不过所有留心的人早已知道他就是个混蛋种族歧视分子）。当联盟驱逐了斯特林后，和他分居的妻子同意将球队卖给史蒂夫·鲍默，这个价格再次创造纪录：20亿美元。

That $2 billion price drew lots of attention， and it was higher than anyone expected.

20亿美元的成交价格吸引了大量关注，这也确实高出了所有人的预期。

A couple of months later， the NBA announced its new TV broadcast deal. Instead of each team earning $30 million a year from ESPN/ABC and Turner， each franchise would get about $86 million per year on average.Under the labor deal， players would take half. Thats still an extra $28 million for each team， with no extra expenses required. Just off the new national TV deal.

几个月后，NBA公布了全新的电视转播协议。每支球队不再是每年从ESPN/ABC和TNT获得3000万美元转播费用，这个数字变成年均8600万美元。按照劳资协议规定，球员可以分得一半。但每支球队仍然比过去多得2800万美元，还不需要支出更多成本。只是一份新的电视转播合同就能达成这个效果。

That war continues to play out on local networks， where the bulk of each teams games are shown. Many teams have elected to invest in their own regional sports networks to fully capitalize on the new TV paradigm.

各地电视台对比赛直播权的争夺还在继续，因为每支球队有大量比赛需要由本地电视台播出。很多球队选择投资自己的电视网，以便全面开发新电视转播行业的潜力。

As if to prove the Clippers sale was no fluke， the Hawks sold for almost $900 million in 2015 to a group led by Tony Ressler， who missed out on the Clippers. Four years prior， Alex Meruelo， a California developer and pizza chain owner， agreed to purchase a majority stake in the club for$350 million， but pulled out during the NBAs financial vetting process. Four years and some modest success later， the franchise was worth at least double that price.

好像为了证明快船的买卖并非偶然，老鹰队在2015年以9亿美元价格被托尼·莱斯纳领导的财团买走，莱斯纳曾错过买下快船的机会。四年前，加州开发商、披萨连锁店主亚历克斯·莫莱罗以3.5亿美元价格买下了老鹰的控股权，不过在NBA的审批过程中他选择退出。经过四年和一些成功运作，老鹰的价值翻了一番。

After just one sale in 2015， it does not appear a franchise will change hands in 2016， and realistically no franchises even appear to be on the market.

2015年仅有一支球队换了东家，2016年似乎没有球队的所有权状态会发生改变，事实上，没有球队被摆上货架。

Prokhorov had made noises about selling the Nets in the past few years as his NBA tenure hadnt been as successful as hed promised. Yet， hes since disowned that wanderlust and seems to be sticking around.

由于在NBA的经历不像预期那么成功，普罗霍罗夫过去几年有过出售篮网的表态。但他后来抛弃了这种想法，坚持持有篮网。

The Timberwolves have softly been on the market for seemingly ages， but this year Glen Taylor unloaded just minority shares of the club to remain at the helm. It would appear hell sell the team — perhaps to one of these minority-stake owners — at some point， but not necessarily soon.

森林狼在很长一段时间里一直属于可能被出售的球队，但今年，格伦·泰勒只是卖掉了一小部分股权。他有可能在某个时间将球队卖出——可能卖给某个小股东，但短期内可能性不大。

And then we have the two longest-tenured owners in the league： Herb Simon in Indiana and the Lakers Buss family. Simon is 81 years old and none of his 10 children appear to be involved in the basketball franchise. Meanwhile， two Buss siblings are in the midst of a Cold War for the operation of the team， with a potential open skirmish a year or two away.

接下来的则是联盟持有球队时间最长的两个老板：步行者的赫伯·赛门和湖人的巴斯家族。赛门现年81岁，他的10个子女都没有参与球队运营。与此同时，巴斯家族的兄妹俩正因球队控制权陷入冷战，一两年后有公开冲突的可能。

These things tend to end with lawsuits； a lawsuit could very well lead to a Frank McCourt-like divestment. Which could lead to a $3 billion sale. Or $4 billion. （Would you be shocked if the Lakers sold for $5 billion？）

这些情况一般会以打官司告终，诉讼很可能导致股份转让。这可能带来30亿美元的出售价格，或者40亿美元。（如果湖人卖出50亿美元，你会吃惊吗？）

Stability is healthy. The Shinn and Maloof situations were dangerous for the league， even if both ended up fine thanks to the guiding hand of David Stern.

稳定等于健康。辛和马鲁夫兄弟对联盟是一种威胁，即便在大卫·斯特恩的帮助下事情得到了良好解决。

The league should also be concerned about the loosening bond of the NBA family and what that means for decision-making in moments of crisis， like a potential 2017 lockout. New Money rules the Board of Governors now， not the familiar old faces who watched the league grow from tape-delayed finals games to $6 billion of annual revenue. There isnt a single individual owner who bought their team in the 1970s （the late Jerry Buss bought in 1979）， and only four owners who arrived in the 1980s.

NBA大家庭之间关联程度的减弱以及这种现实在出现危机时、比如2017年潜在的停摆，对决策制定有什么意义，这也是联盟应当考虑的问题。联盟的所有权人管理委员会上全是新的富翁，见证联盟从总决赛只能延迟播放录像带到发展为年收入60亿美元的大产业的老面孔已经不在了。现在的球队老板中，没有一个是在70年代买入的球队（去世不久的杰里·巴斯在1979年买下了湖人），只有四名老板是在80年代买下的球队。

Eighteen of the 30 current team owners entered the league in 2000 or later. With these massive investments come massive expectations. The NBA has met them so far. But Adam Silver and his team have to be concerned the hot streak will end at some point.

30支球队中有18支球队的老板在2000年之后才进入NBA。巨额投资意味着极高的期望。到目前为止，NBA满足了他们的期望。但亚当·肖华和他的团队必须明白，这种热度总有一天会结束。