The New York Knicks might be the most storied franchise in all of sports specifically based on being in one of the biggest markets and because of its brand recognition.
Unfortunately, the Knicks have been a complete disaster since the days Patrick Ewing was the star center in the 1990’s – largely due to poor management and ownership. Current owner James Dolan is considered one of the worst in the NBA.
But one former New York Knicks legend claims this famous American billionaire wants to badly purchase the storied franchise.
Let’s face it. The New York Knicks have been a dumpster fire for almost two decades because they just can’t luck out with acquiring all-NBA talent. When they acquired All-star Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets in 2011, the city was buzzing that he could turn it all around.
But that didn’t happen. They made the playoffs once in his tenure there and they couldn’t even get out of the first round.
Recently, however, they traded Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks and created two max slots in hopes to lure free agent stars in the offseason. That might be wishful thinking though because Knicks owner James Dolan is widely regarded as incompetent. Many fans are calling for him to sell the team.
Enter Knicks legend Charles Oakley who claims that Amazon billionaire and richest person on Earth, Jeff Bezos, wants to purchase the team.
In a recent interview with The Ringer, Oakley told Bill Simmons and Jason Concepcion that he heard Bezos wanted to buy the team.
Oakley said, “I heard that Jeff Bezos wants to buy the Knicks. He was gonna try to do Amazon in Long Island City, and he went to Virginia. So he still wanted to do some real estate in New York. So why not buy the Garden?”
When me and @netw3rk filmed a pilot for a cooking show with Charles Oakley, we expected funny stories and delicious food, but we never expected an OAK BOMB about the Knicks.pic.twitter.com/B8l0H4kRnT
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 3, 2019
Although that seems like a guess concocted out of thin air, it’s really not all that crazy.
NFL and NBA franchises have soared through the roof over the past few decades. Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 for just $140 million and Forbes valued its worth at over $5 billion late last year. You do the math.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer purchased the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014 for a whopping $2 billion – most analysts believing that he overpaid for the franchise that’s the 2nd most popular in Los Angeles.
But as the old saying goes; when it’s a seller’s market, it’s worth what someone will pay for it. People are beginning to recognize that sports franchises are not only a hot commodity but a wise investment as well.
And Bezos wouldn’t need other investors either because he could single-handedly buy it by himself.
Bezos is a savvy businessman and he has the ability to make Dolan an offer he couldn’t refuse.
