Red Alert: Bird/Belkin Meeting With Celtics Management This Week

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Only saw this in the Herald paper edition, the sub heading is:
Bird Leaning Toward celtics

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP.....

If Bird rejoins Celtics he wants control

by Scott Van Voorhis
Monday, September 30, 2002


Former Celtics great Larry Bird yesterday laid out the price of his
return to the storied franchise he led to three world championships - or
any other NBA team - indicating that he wants total control over
basketball operations.


But not wanting to wade into a major controversy in his debut as Celtics
owner, Wyc Grousbeck said last night he is happy with the team's current
management.

Bird and Boston businessman Steven Belkin have set up a tentative
meeting early this week with the new Celtics owners-in-waiting, who on
Friday unwrapped a record shattering $360 million deal to buy one of the
NBA's most well-known franchises.

Grousbeck would not comment on such a meeting.

``The new owners have illustrated an interest to talk and we are going
to sit down and talk,'' Belkin said. ``We don't know where that is going
to go.''

If the conditions are right, an agreement ``could happen in a matter of
weeks,'' Belkin said. ``I am not optimistic or pessimistic,'' he added.

Bird could not be reached for comment. But a close business associate,
Jill Leone, confirmed that the former Indiana Pacers coach wants to be
chief of basketball operations of his next NBA team.

After playing and coaching, Bird is interested in moving to the next
level, she said. ``It is a dream of his.''

Belkin said that the NBA wants Bird back in the league, whether in
Boston or Charlotte, N.C., where Belkin and Bird are currently bidding
to buy an NBA franchise.

``I think the NBA would really want Larry back in the league,'' said
Belkin.

Belkin indicated he's willing to pony up as much as $20 million to
become one of the team's new owners, and suggested that Bird also would
be interested in taking an equity stake in the team. A source said the
prospective new owners plan to put somewhat less than $100 million of
their own money into the team, and are looking to raise $150 million
more from other investors.

``They are trying to raise a pretty healthy chunk of capital,'' said one
Boston sports business expert. The new ownership group is expected to
borrow the rest of the agreed-on $360 million purchase price.

But Belkin cautioned that he and Bird are still focusing mainly on their
efforts to buy the Charlotte franchise. The one-time Hub hoop king
huddled with Belkin Saturday night at the wealthy businessman's Weston
home to discuss their Charlotte bid, but the sudden change in Celtics
ownership also came up.

Grousbeck, the would-be owner who will take charge of the team, said the
last time he spoke with Belkin, the latter said he was ``focused on
Charlotte and we wished him well. In the end, we hope that we both end
up owning teams in the league.''

Grousbeck's father, H. Irving Grousbeck, reached in California,
yesterday referred questions to the younger Grousbeck. Their partner in
the Celtics venture, Stephen Pagliuca, could not be reached yesterday.

However, while the new owners have expressed interest in bringing Bird
into the mix, actually putting together a deal with the one-time NBA
superstar may be more complicated.

Sources close current Celtics management and the new owners say that
such a deal would be far from a slam dunk to pull off and may never come
together.

One sports industry source compared efforts to bring Bird on board to
the tortured and unsuccessful attempts by new Red Sox owner John Henry
to court popular Hub businessman Joe O'Donnell. Henry liked the idea of
bringing O'Donnell into the ownership group, but was unable to share
control of the team with the concessions czar.

Bringing Bird into the fold of the new ownership group would require
``complex'' negotiations with no guarantee of success, predicted one
local sports industry source.

In fact, there may be reservations on the part of the new owners as to
whether they want Belkin in the deal, according to one source familiar
with the group's plans.

Belkin said that he and Bird would be inseparable when it comes to new
NBA ventures.

For the would-be Celtics owners, whose deal must be approved by the
National Basketball Association, bringing back Bird would yield
undeniable advantages, said local sports industry expert and former
FleetCenter chief Larry Moulter.

``Larry Bird has a proven record, on the court as well as off the court.