ownership gossip

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

Here's a great news scoop no one has mentioned from BSG's heroic
Pitino requiem.  Check it out, but here's the part that really got me
excited:

7. Is there a chance that Larry Bird will take over the Celtics in some
capacity?

I think there's a better-than-good chance. Ironically enough, on the same
afternoon of Pitino's final game, I exchanged e-mails with a source of mine
who sent along the following info:

"Gaston has been seriously talking to Steve Belkin (Bird's backer) about
selling. Bird has talked personally to Gaston in an effort to mend fences.
Gaston, over the course of the past year, has bought 30,000 shares of
Celtics stock on the open market at an average price of $10 (This is public
record in SEC filings.) Either Gaston believes the stock is undervalued
(which I doubt) or he is preparing to sell the team. (The stock is now at $8
a share). If Gaston sold the team to Bird's group, the price of the Celtics
stock, which is 46% of the ownership (although there's no voting rights) the
price of the stock would triple. A major stumbling block is getting Pitino
out at a reasonable price. 

"Trust me, Bird has done his homework. He has a team of front office people
(coaches, GM and scouts) ready to roll as soon as something breaks. If and
when Bird's group buys the team, they will be prepared to immediately make
the basketball operations far less of a joke. If you have any doubts about
my info, just check the SEC filings on stock purchases by Celtics insiders."

Five important things to remember here:

--A. Pitino could have exercised a $22 million buyout if Gaston had sold the
team during the Pitino Era; that's why getting Pitino out at a "reasonable
price" was such a stumbling block. As it turned out, Pitino did everyone a
favor by graciously walking away for a mere $1.8 million. 

--B. The Seattle SuperSonics are probably being sold for something in the
$200 million range... you would think the Celtics could fetch about $50-100
million more, given the prestige of owning the Celtics.

--C. From what I understand, Gaston is waiting to see how the Red Sox sale
plays out -- media attention, price, bidders, etc. -- just for a reference
point.

--D. A common misperception: That "Larry's group" is actually headed by
Larry. In fact, the aforementioned Mr. Belkin -- a Boston-based
katrillionaire and founder of the lucrative Trans National Group -- would be
fronting the majority of cash. Larry would run the franchise, hire all
personnel, make all major decisions, serve as goodwill ambassador and enjoy
a minority interest for his effort, a la MJ in Washington.

--E. As I detailed in last week's Ask Sports Guy
</boston/sportsguy/main.dci?page=asksg12> column, Bird smartly laid the
groundwork for this move by leaking his interest to the Globe's Peter May,
putting Gaston in a no-win situation. If Gaston wants to sell the franchises
and remain in the good graces of Boston fans, he HAS to sell to Bird's
group; it's the right move, it's the smart move and it's the only move, as
long as Team Bird's offer is competitive.

(One easy way to determine whether Gaston is prepared to sell the team:
Watch what happens near the NBA trading deadline. If the Celtics make a
major move involving Walker or Pierce, that means Gaston intends to keep the
team, have Chris Wallace and Leo Papile run the show and hire a new coach
after the season. If the Celtics fail to make any moves, you know they're
playing out the season and biding time until a new management group cleans
house.)



Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass