Something Afoot in Griz Ownership Situation - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

More serious to Memphis fans than sinister rumors of Marc Iavaroni's demise might be news from the Commercial-Appeal's David Williams that locals now only own 5% of the team, versus the 30% they owned before. Majority owner Michael Heisley (a Chicago businessman who has been trying to sell the team for more than a year now) made a "capital call" to local investors recently; they were forced to pay up their share of financial losses the franchise has incurred, or see their stake dwindle.

Williams reports that with the stake shrinkage, the locals have also lost their ability to make a "matching offer" of sorts if Heisley finds an outside buyer. So basically, the local owners have little say in the affairs of the franchise at this point. The report notes that the Grizzlies' lease with Memphis is particularly tight -- the franchise faces hefty fines if it slips out prior to 2021. Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins has previously done work to show the soonest the Griz could reasonably leave would be roughly 2016.

So we're left to figure out Heisley's intentions. The story says the local investors recently made a $300 million offer to purchase Heisley's 70% share. The Sonics cost Clay Bennett $350 million a year ago; for some reason, Heisley values the Griz at 11% more than the Sonics. Hmm.

Scenario A: The Grizzlies really are losing tons and tons of money (not hard to believe) and Heisley really needs help covering the costs (unlikely).

Scenario B: Heisley has a prospective owner, knew the locals would balk at the cap call, and wants to consolidate the shares in order to make the most bread off his sale. Positioning the franchise's payroll as flexible and thrifty would help. Adding the specter of a market relocation in eight years does not hurt.