NBA ownership 101
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Please, see Peter Holt.
Please, see the San Antonio Spurs.
Please, see the Spurs’ 4 World Championship Larry O’Brien Trophies.
Now …
Please, read about THE WAY a Winner Thinks When The Going Gets Tough.
When Spurs majority owner Peter Holt walked into the room for the NBA Board of Governors meeting here earlier this week, he was greeted with a cacophony of catcalls and good-natured ribbing.
His fellow owners couldn’t believe the supposedly thrifty Holt had signed off on one of the most expensive offseason makeovers in recent Spurs memory.
“They all think I’m cheap as hell,” Holt said.
Not anymore. In the span of less than a month, Holt and his ownership group have done some serious damage to their miserly reputation.
In the eye of an uncertain economy that prompted many NBA teams to put a lock on their wallets this offseason, the Spurs went barreling past the luxury tax threshold to acquire Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess.
The Spurs already are about $8 million over the dollar-for-dollar tax line, with still more roster pieces to add. The final tariff bill is likely to breach $10 million, on top of a payroll pushing $80 million.
In his first interview since the offseason began, Holt this week explained the reasoning behind the Spurs’ out-of-character summertime spending spree. In Vegas terms, it was time to go all in.
—————–
Whether or not the San Antonio Spurs actually win the 2009-2010 NBA title really isn’t the point.
What matters most of all is Mr. Holt’s versatility, intelligence, commitment to excellence and … perhaps, No. 1 on the list … actual Level of R.E.S.P.E.CT. for [1] the Spurs loyal fans, [2] RC Buford & Gregg Popovich, [3] Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili & Tony Parker, et al.
As that great, down-home, southern gentleman-philospher, Bum Phillips [Houston Oilers], once said, about the defining characteristic of a fabulous former NFL head coach by the name of Don Shula [Miami Dolphins]:
“He’s so good, he can take his’n and beat yours’n; then take yours’n and beat his’n.”
That, dear friends, right there, is a Prime Example of A Man who actually knows what he’s doing in the Great Arena of Life.
