Grizzlies majority owner Michael Heisley agrees to

Grizzlies majority owner Michael Heisley agrees to sell team
Majority owner Michael Heisley has been trying to sell his Memphis Grizzlies for years to just the right person,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and the Illinois billionaire finally found his buyer.
Robert J. Pera, a 34-year-old billionaire from California.
Heisley said Monday he has an agreement to sell his NBA team to a group headed by Pera. Heisley made the announcement less than a couple hours after published reports of a deal selling the team he moved from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych].
"I am confident that the franchise will continue its develoment toward being a perennial championship contender and an important member of the Memphis community," the 75-year-old Heisley said in a statement. "I am particularly gratified that we have put together a team which is poised to continue its development. We have an outstanding team of players,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], coaching staff and basketball and business management."
The sale is subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors and other conditions.
Heisley had a deal in 2006 with a group headed by Christian Laettner that fell through in January 2007 when they failed to line up financing the $252 million to buy his majority share,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]. He became a billionaire in October 2011 when his company went public with a fortune estimated at $1,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych].5 billion in March,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]. A stock dip earlier this month has left the man described as a big basketball fan who loves to play the game worth an estimated $980 million,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych].
"I am excited about the opportunity to build on the work that has made the Memphis Grizzlies a highly competitive NBA team,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," Pera said in a statement. "I look forward to getting to know the Memphis community and to continuing the team's success in Memphis."
Heisley bought the then-expansion Grizzlies in 2000 and moved the team to Memphis in 2001. He lured Jerry West to Memphis as the Grizzlies' president of basketball operations in 2002,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a job he held for five seasons.
The Grizzlies moved into the FedExForum for the 2004-2005 season during a string of three straight post-season appearances,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], but they set the NBA record for futility losing their first 12 playoff games.
Heisley was heavily criticized for a February 2008 trade that sent Memphis' only All-Star and all-time leading scorer,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Pau Gasol,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], to the Lakers. But the trade landed Marc Gasol,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], who was named an All-Star this season. The Grizzlies won only 22, 22 and 24 games in three straight seasons before a rebuilding program resulted in playoff berths the past two seasons.
The timing to sell couldn't be much better.
The Grizzlies went 41-25 this season and reached the playoffs a second straight year,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], selling out each home game. They took Oklahoma City to seven games in the second round in 2011 and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games in the first round last month after blowing a 27-point lead in the opener.
The team's lease at the FedExForum would make it very costly to leave before 2021. Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Gasol and Mike Conley - four of five starters - are under contract for at least the next three seasons.
相关的主题文章：

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

http://www.enutka.fora.pl/inne,13/funeral-held-for-chiefs-linebacker-jovan-belcher-s,1640.html#3106

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

http://www.nextovercharge.fora.pl/art-corner,25/turn-your-couch-into-a-catwalk-with-the-new-leopar,2695.html#2859

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

The post has been approved 0 times