No one, not even LeBron James, knows whether he’ll play basketball next year or not. But one thing he has consistently said is that he’d be interested in owning an NBA team at some point, specifically in Las Vegas.
However, things can change.
This is a big change of heart from James. He has consistently expressed interests, so why the sudden change?
Could the $7-$10 billion price range be too rich for him to get involved, even as a minority owner?
According to a report by Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, the Fenway Sports Group, which James has been involved with since 2011, does not plan on pursuing a bid for the potential Las Vegas NBA team. In the article, the estimated cost of an NBA expansion team was stated as one of the reasons they are not pursuing a bid.
If James’ partners are out, then maybe that’s why he is no longer enthused about NBA ownership in Sin City.
And who knows, maybe he changes his mind again, or the ownership group that wins the bid convinces him to come along.
This story is far from over, but as things stand, whenever Las Vegas begins playing in the NBA, LeBron looks more likely to be playing against them than to be seated in a suite as the team’s owner.