Philadelphia 76ers officially sold; Will Smith features in the huge roster of new owners: NBA Update
The Philadelphia 76ers have officially been handed over to a group of investors led by Joshua Harris, a New York-based leveraged buyout specialist.
The total number of owners comprising the group is nine and included are former NBA player agent and Sacramento Kings executive, Jason Levien, GSI Commerace CEO Michael Rubin, real estate investors, film producers, and Hollywood’s
power couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Will Smith is a major Hollywood star with super hit movies to his name such as “I-Robot” and the “Men in Black”. His stake in the franchise is sure to drive up the value and give Philadelphia an edge in terms of star power.
Co-managing owner will be David Blitzer, who was keen to assure fans that the conglomerate would function smoothly and spare no effort to do what is right for the club. He also made clear that Joshua Harris would retain final say
in all matters and the lengthy list of owners does not mean that the Sixers will be entangled in a bureaucratic nightmare.
"At the end of the day, Josh is the managing partner," Blitzer said. "He's actually a great listener. He'll take in lots of great opinions. But at the end of the day, Josh gets to make the call. It's not like there's 15 people
that all have rights to vote and say this and do that."
Comcast-Spectactor chairman Ed Snider, who oversaw the sale of the Sixers had said earlier that the franchise was losing money and he didn’t have too many options other than selling. Comcast-Spectactor took over the Philadelphia
76ers back in 1996 from Harold Katz and Snider revealed it has very difficult for him to make the deal.
"This is one of the hardest business decisions I've ever had to make," Snider said. "The Sixers are family, and it is very difficult to say goodbye to an organization of great people with whom we have worked so closely over the
last 15 years."
Harris assured supporters of the franchise that he had been a fan for most of his life and therefore the club was in safe hands with him.
"I've been a 76ers fans since college," Harris said. "Philadelphia is like a second home to me."
"We will be active, long-term owners," Harris said, adding he would run the team from New York.
The new owners also made instant changes to the franchise, giving Rod Thorn, the President of the team, greater day-to-day control and firing Ed Stefanski, who had been General Manager under Snider.
The owners also publicly backed current coach Doug Collins and said they had every confidence in his abilities. They could not though talk about the roster because of the NBA lockout.
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