The Brooklyn Nets’ Barclays Center is on the market. Only took two years.
RATNER PUTS 55 PERCENT STAKE FOR SALE
Bruce Ratner is reportedly putting his 55 percent controlling stake in Barclays Center up for sale, just two years after the arena opened for business.
Via SportsBusiness Journal:
The venue ranks as the most popular arena in the country, based on ticket sales for concerts in the first six months of the year, according to Pollstar. And beginning next year, in addition to the Brooklyn Nets, it will be home to the NHL’s New York Islanders.
Indeed, if one of those two teams’ owners does not buy the arena — the Nets’ controlling owners hold the other 45 percent stake of the building — the structure would join a select list of venues in sports: an arena hosting two professional sports teams, but all three entities having separate ownership.
Barclays Center opened in 2012 and in 2013 it was named Sports Facility of the Year at the Sports Business Awards. The arena has more than $30 million in annual cash flow, investment banking sources said, adding that such an amount would translate to a top valuation of $750 million for the arena.
LEBRON TOPS #SLAMTop50
Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James has ranked as the number one player in the NBA by Slam Magazine.
Kevin Durant ended in second with Chris Paul third. New Orleans Pelicans Anthony Davis was a surprise choice for fourth.
Via Slam Online:
At some point, it will be a thing we can talk about again. A thing worth discussing, worth arguing about, worth your very hottest internet take. It will once again be a question worth asking. Right now, though, it’s not a question. There is no question about this guy right here.
Maybe it’ll happen soon. Maybe Kevin Durant will commit just that little bit more on the defensive end, maybe add just a touch more of that intangible whatever-it-is to complete his ascendancy. Maybe Derrick Rose will really be healthy this time, and manage to stay that way for a while. Maybe Channing Frye is finally, finally ready to get serious about his assist-to-turnover ratio. Maybe Dwi—no, no, I’m just kidding. C’mon. Knock it off.
More likely, it’ll take a few years. Maybe it’s Anthony Davis taking a few more giant steps along his path to freakish dominance, or maybe it’s Andrew Wiggins finding a shortcut to the McGrady-in-his-prime route and just exploding all over the damn league. Maybe it’s someone who’s not yet even on our radar.
But yeah, at some point, sooner or later, another human being will make this a debate. Until that happens, LeBron James is the best basketball player in this or any other league, and there’s really no reason to write another word.
KD WON’T RUSH BACK FROM SURGERY
Kevin Durant is likely to miss the first 19 games of the NBA season for Oklahoma City, but the league’s MVP isn’t rushing.
Via The Oklahoman:
“It’s something that’s definitely going to help my foot and make it better in the long run,” Durant said about surgery.
The 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player was positive about missing time to injury, particularly in regard to his teammates. When asked about Russell Westbrook, Durant said he’s had conversations with the Thunder point guard about doing what he always does.
“Stay who you are,” Durant said. “You may get more opportunities but you don’t have to change what you do.”
