Now we’re talking.
The idea of different ownership groups desiring to bring an NBA expansion team to Las Vegas just got a lot more serious.
And better for it.
Jerry Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks, is throwing his name onto the court as someone who wants to lead the charge of landing such a franchise.
This definitely could be the guy. This is the one with the sort of experience and know-how and past achievements to make such a venture successful. He’d have the best chance at doing so.
Nothing against Bill Foley. Nothing against Magic Johnson. Nothing against any of the others who have expressed interest publicly in pursuing the expansion team.
We’re talking about some very successful people whose careers speak for themselves. But none own the deep and profound knowledge of what it means to own and run an NBA team as the Hall of Famer Colangelo.
Yes. He’s 86. But there would be no better name from which to head such a venture. And no smarter person than to have a strong ownership group in which to be heavily involved throughout the process.
Not walking away
“It would never surprise me that Jerry would be interested in getting back into the league, that’s for sure,” said Bob Young, a longtime Valley sportswriter who covered the Suns for 13 years. “I’m guessing he wouldn’t mind having another bite at the apple. Obviously, he’s going to know everybody in the NBA, and they’re going to know him. That’s going to be an advantage.”
There is also this: Perhaps he doesn’t want to walk away from the NBA just yet. Maybe he wants a better ending to his basketball story.
His time as chairman of basketball operations and then as a special advisor with the Philadelphia 76ers from 2015-18 certainly wasn’t memorable, defined by high-profile changes and internal tensions.
He also sold the Suns (along with the WNBA’s Mercury and Arena Football League’s Rattlers) to Tucson native Robert Sarver in 2004, but many believe Colangelo grew more and more upset over the years with how the former ran the NBA team.
Maybe, just maybe, Colangelo wants to finally depart the league for good in a better light.
He gets it. He was in a Phoenix market saturated with professional sports. He understands the deal. It’s one thing to bring an NBA team into a city without any pro sports. But when you do so to a town like Las Vegas and begin competing for eyeballs and dollars, you better know what you’re doing.
He does.
“Basketball, more than anything, runs through Jerry’s veins,” said Dan Bickley, columnist for Arizonasports.com and sports radio host for Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “I’ve heard people say that you could not name four people who have done more for the sport from start to finish and across all platforms than Jerry Colangelo. His name is on the court at the Hall of Fame.
“Guys who build empires just don’t retire. He would be a tremendous fit. He’s still Jerry Colangelo.”
He’s also a major reason for Grand Canyon University’s ascension to Division I athletics. He’s viewed as the reason the downtown entertainment district in Phoenix even exists.
He knows the Las Vegas market, having first brought USA Basketball here for its training camps at UNLV.
When he needed help with most any league matter, late former Commissioner David Stern would call Colangelo. This included when the aesthetics of the NBA was one of physicality and a defensive-minded league. So he had Colangelo chair a committee that basically re-invented how the modern NBA looks now. It’s amazing the influence Colangelo has had in the sport.
‘Perfect for Las Vegas’
“He has a great gift for making players want to play for his organization,” Bickley said. “I’m really curious to see where this goes. Jerry can set down great bones in any organization in terms of how it operates, how it treats people, how it treats the media, how it treats players.
“If you’re talking about ownership, he began the Bulls, he had his choice of the Bucks or Suns, took Phoenix and turned them into a model organization for decades upon decades. Through force of will and ambition, he literally turned Phoenix around.
“He would be perfect for Las Vegas.”
This could definitely be the guy.
No offense to other potential ownership groups, but the race to land an NBA expansion team here just got a lot more serious.
And better for it.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
