Filed under: Grizzlies, Lakers, Sports Business and Media
NBA commissioner David Stern doesn't believe fans in Memphis should be worried about talk of contraction. Neither does Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley."No. 1, I don't think David Stern would do that,'' Heisley said in an interview with FanHouse on Tuesday about possible contraction. "And, No. 2, I think it's speculation. I'm not even sure that the league has the authority to shut a franchise down without the cooperation of the owner.''
On a recent national conference call, Stern said talk of eliminating teams would be discussed in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement but that he's "not spending a lot of time on it.'' He was asked if contraction should be a "chilling word'' in Memphis, a small-market team that was 28th in the 30-team NBA last season in attendance and is losing money.
"No, it shouldn't be,'' Stern replied. "It's a good word to use, especially in collective bargaining.''
Heisley said he wasn't at last month's owners meeting in New York in which contraction was brought up. But he's not about to cooperate with anything that has to do with the Grizzlies leaving Memphis. He reiterated the team, in its 10th season in Tennessee after moving from Vancouver in 2001, isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/02/grizzlies-michael-heisley-dismisses-contraction-talk-excited-a/
Frank Rijkaard Jose Luis Chilavert Kevin Keegan Paul Gascoigne
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