Richard Chaifetz Rumors

And-Ones: Griffin, Amazon, Coaches, Tatum, WNBA, J. Porter

November 1st, 2024 at 9:55pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of his retirement as a player, six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin is said to be drawing significant interest not from NBA teams but from the league’s new television partners. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Griffin is in talks with Amazon Prime Video about a role as an analyst on their NBA coverage, with NBC and ESPN also believed to be interested in the former Clippers star.

Amazon and NBC aren’t currently airing NBA games, but will begin to do so in 2025/26, when the league’s new media rights deal takes effect, and will need to fill out their broadcast teams with both game and studio analysts. One source suggests to McCarthy that Griffin, who has an engaging personality and tried his hand at stand-up comedy during his playing days, is a candidate to become “the face” of Amazon’s NBA coverage.

Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post recently reported that veteran play-by-play broadcaster Ian Eagle, who calls NBA games for TNT and YES Network, is in serious talks to join Amazon for its NBA coverage. Mike Tirico and Ian’s son Noah Eagle are expected to be the top two play-by-play broadcasters for NBC’s NBA coverage, per Glasspiegel.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In an interesting story for The Associated Press, Tim Reynolds takes a closer look at the average shelf life for an NBA head coach, noting that 15 of the league’s 30 coaches are entering either their first, second, or third year with their respective clubs. “That’s a sobering reality of this profession,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the NBA’s second longest-tenured head coach. “It bums me out when I hear that stat because there are a lot of really talented coaches that if they had the same type of structure and continuity and belief from (their teams) … there could be a lot more coaches able to do what I’m able to do here (in Miami).”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum has informally agreed to join a bid to bring a WNBA franchise to his home city of St. Louis, reports Jacob Feldman of Sportico. Billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman are heading up the prospective ownership group, according to Feldman, who notes that NBA players are permitted to own up to a 4% stake in a WNBA franchise.
A second gambler has admitted to his role in the Jontay Porter betting scheme, pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, per an Associated Press report. The Pennsylvania man, Mahmud Mollah, will be sentenced on May 2 in federal court. A wide range of sentences are possible, from a no-jail punishment to 20 years in prison.

More Bidders Emerge For Hawks

February 27th, 2015 at 11:51am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 11:51am: The highest bid for the Hawks franchise itself was for $800MM, a source tells Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com. The approximately $900MM figure reported earlier encompassed $112MM worth of bonds remaining from the construction of Philips Arena as well as the team, Ozanian hears.

THURSDAY, 9:45am: A part-owner of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays and a neuropsychologist are among the people connected to at least seven groups that made preliminary bids this week to buy the Hawks, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. Some of the bids put out by Tuesday’s deadline to submit initial offers were for around $900MM, two sources told Soshnick, adding that the team may continue to accept offers in spite of that self-imposed deadline. Randy Frankel, who owns a minority stake in the Rays, is part of a group that includes rapper-turned-entrepreneur Jesse Itzler and brokerage firm founder Steven Starker, Soshnick hears. Dr. Richard Chaifetz, the neuropsychologist who founded a leading employee assistance firm, is partnering with Grant Hill and fellow former NBA player Junior Bridgeman in a bid for team, according to Soshnick.

Former Suns and Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is also a part of the Chaifetz-Hill-Bridgeman group, with father Jerry Colangelo acting as a senior adviser, as TNT’s David Aldridge reported last month. A wide range of names have been connected to the Hawks since Bruce Levenson, who owns a controlling stake, revealed in September that he had sent a racially charged email and announced that he was selling his share. Later, the rest of the ownership groups involved with the team agreed to sell, too. The owners of Atlanta’s WNBA team, Kelly Loeffler and Mary Brock, were also reportedly interested in bidding for the Hawks, along with their husbands, Jeffrey Sprecher and John Brock, though it’s unclear if they were among those who made preliminary offers this week. Former players Dominique Wilkins, Dikembe Mutombo and Chris Webber, former Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien and attorney Doug Davis are others who’ve reportedly held interest. Investors Chris Hansen and Thomas Tull want to buy the team and move it to Seattle, but it appears highly unlikely they’ll get that chance.

The sale of the franchise, which Forbes valued at $825MM, seems destined to bring resolution to the situation surrounding GM Danny Ferry, who’s been on an indefinite leave of absence since September after it was revealed that he, too, made racially charged statements. The team Ferry built has surged to the top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 45-12 under the stewardship of coach Mike Budenholzer, who’s acting as the GM in Ferry’s stead.

Latest On Potential Bucks Sale

April 15th, 2014 at 3:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:27pm: Woelfel wouldn’t be surprised if the new owners aren’t among those previously reported to be in the mix (Twitter link).

APRIL 15TH, 3:20pm: Kohl has selected the group he’ll sell to, Woelfel tweets. Woelfel doesn’t specify whether it’s a majority or minority stake that’ll change hands, but judging from his reporting to this point, he’s likely referring to a controlling interest in the Bucks.

APRIL 11TH: The NBA’s Board of Governors will likely make the Bucks one of the primary topics of discussion at their meeting next week, and there’s a “distinct possibility” that they’ll reveal new ownership for the team, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. A pair of reports refuted Woelfel’s assertion last month that longtime owner Herb Kohl was likely to give up control of the team this spring, but Woelfel once more suggests a principal stake in the team is up for grabs.

Kohl has set the price at $500MM, Woelfel writes, which scared off potential investor Craig Leipold, who is the majority owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Still, there are a number of other buyers who appear to be in play, as Woelfel details. Mark Attanasio, the principal owner of baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers, partnered with former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley when he was reportedly close to buying the Bucks last year, but Heisley’s poor health has caused him to drop out of the mix. Attanasio nonetheless has strong ties to Steve Greenberg of Allen & Co., the firm that Kohl has hired to conduct the sale of the team, as does agent Arn Tellem, another rumored suitor, according to Woelfel.

Red Sox chairman and former Padres owner Tom Werner is also in the running for the Bucks, and so is a group of investors from Chicago, Woelfel reports. Former Raptors and Suns executive Bryan Colangelo appears to be linked to the Chicago group, and some around the league tell Woelfel that they believe there’s a chance he’ll head up the team’s basketball operations if the Chicago investors wind up taking over the team.

Health care executive Jon Hammes in the running, most likely for a minority stake, Woelfel writes. Woelfel reiterates the rumors connecting one-time Bucks player Junior Bridgeman and former Timberwolves GM David Kahn to the sale of the team. Chicago-based entrepreneur and neuropsychologist Dr. Richard Chaifetz has publicly expressed interest in owning an NBA team, Woelfel notes, but it’s not clear if he’s connected to the other Chicago investors.

Kohl and the NBA have been aggressively seeking a new arena for the Bucks in Milwaukee, and though it appears that security public funding will be an uphill fight, Kohl has been intent on ensuring the franchise remains in local hands. The principal figure in a group of investors from Seattle, which nearly became the new home of the Kings last year, recently said that he and his partners remain poised to bring an NBA team to the Emerald City.