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The Connecticut Sun ownership intends to present multiple options to the WNBA as it looks to salvage what would have been a record-breaking $325 million franchise sale, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN. The Mohegan tribe, which has owned the franchise since buying and relocating the Orlando Miracle in 2003, is seeking clarity on the league's desired path forward for the organization, sources said, after an agreement to sell the team to a group led by former Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca was met with resistance from the league office. After news broke of the deal's existence -- and Pagliuca's eventual plan to relocate the franchise to Boston -- a league statement emphasized that "relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams," and that cities that have already gone through the expansion process have priority over Boston, which did not submit an expansion bid in any of the three recent expansion rounds over the past three years. Among the Mohegan tribe's likely proposals to the league, according to sources: • A full franchise sale to Pagliuca's group. • A sale to a group headlined by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who would move the team to Hartford, Connecticut. • Selling a minority stake in the organization. • Allowing the league to purchase the franchise for $325 million and relocate it from the WNBA's smallest market.
A source close to the ownership group says the tribe is frustrated and feels the league is presenting a one-path option: relocation of the team to a market of its choosing at a value of its choosing. The league, in recent weeks, offered to purchase the Sun for $250 million and not charge the buyer an additional relocation fee -- which would allow the league to facilitate a sale to one of its preferred expansion cities, according to sources. That offer was presented before Pagliuca's bid of $325 million was reported on Aug. 2, sources said.
The tribe had informed the league that it had reached a deal with Pagliuca to buy the team and presented a general executive summary with the terms of the agreement on July 2, sources said. The ownership group did not present a signed term sheet at that time, according to sources, per guidance from its investment firm, Allen & Co. While that deal did not specifically mention Boston, Pagliuca's intention would be to move the team there, pending WNBA board of governors approval, as early as the 2027 season, according to sources. Pagliuca has also committed to building a $100 million practice facility.
In addition to Harris, Austin’s proposal was supported by NBA superstar Kevin Durant (who starred one year at the University of Texas), former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry and PEAK6 founder Jenny Just. All big names, but none with active control of an NBA team.
Marc Lasry: “I think valuations will go up. I don’t think you’re going to have the growth that I had where you could pay a dollar and you got paid $8 ten years later. When I was looking at selling, I thought values would keep going up about ten, fifteen percent a year. And I think that’s what’s going to continue happening… It’s not just going to stop. It can level off, it can go up 5%, it may go up 10%. I don’t think it’ll be going up 20% or 30%.”
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Front Office Sports: How are you feeling about that decision and how hard was it to walk away? Marc Lasry: Well, I think it was hard. I don't think it's ever easy. Life's long dreams are either to play in the NBA or which that wasn't going to happen. So then it’s to be able to own a team. I think that was a phenomenal accomplishment. I loved it. I had a great time. I think in what I decided to sell, I thought it was probably the right time. I could have waited an extra year. I could have done it a year earlier. I think for me, I wanted to focus on a few other things and I thought it made sense.
Marc Lasry: When I was looking at selling, I thought values would keep going up about 10, 15% a year. And I think that's actually what's going to continue happening. That's not a big chop. Where you get a little bit more is when it's a control piece, right? Where people want to control. I think you'll see that continuing to go up. It's hard. Like it's not that it's just going to stop. It can level off. It can go up 5%. May go up 10. I don't think it'll be going up 20 or 30%.
Former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry believes NBA franchise valuations will continue to go up, but not at the explosive rate recently witnessed. Lasry, who alongside Wes Edens bought a total 50% stake in the Bucks at a $550 million valuation in 2014, sold his 25% stake in 2023 at a $3.5 billion valuation. That means the Bucks’ value increased by more than 218% over the course of their ownership.
“I don’t think you’re gonna have the growth that I had, where you paid a dollar and you got paid $8 10 years later,” Lasry told Front Office Sports in the latest episode of Portfolio Players.
From Lasry’s perspective, the Celtics got a bit of a championship bump, something he also experienced when he sold his Bucks stake, as Giannis Antetokounmpo had led the Bucks to a championship less than two years prior. “People always pay a premium for someone who’s a winner,” he says.
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A group trying to bring a team to the city has filed a formal bid with the WNBA, three sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic. Former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is the lead investor in the group trying to bring another team to Texas, through his investment firm, Avenue Capital, while perennial NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and former University of Texas star and Houston Comets player Fran Harris are both involved with the bid, according to a person briefed on the bid. The team would likely play at the Moody Center, where the Longhorns compete. The group plans to build a practice facility for the prospective team if it wins the bid.
Once TNT agreed to televise more than 45 games on TNT, truTV and Max, all in prime time, for $100 million over six years (with a three-year out), the league was solid oak. A $7 million seed round turned into a $28 million Series A, with A-list investors such as Carmelo Anthony, Michael Phelps, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Marc Lasry. Ally (which will have its logo on the front of all jerseys) was joined by partners such as Ticketmaster, Miller Lite and Under Armour.
Former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry is also weighing a bid for a potential Las Vegas franchise as part of a group that includes former WNBA star Candace Parker. “The team in Vegas could end up being one of the most profitable teams,” Lasry said in an interview. “It was hard to make money in Milwaukee. We got exceptionally lucky in that we drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo but I think you need to be in a city where irrespective of how good the team is you can make money.”
The co-founder of a global investment firm with a home in Connecticut is embroiled in a legal battle with a former employee who has accused him of years of sexual harassment, documents show. In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 23, Gina Strum said she refused multiple advances of Marc Lasry, CEO and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group, while working with the New York-based firm. The lawsuit also alleges Lasry “fraudulently induced Strum into a business deal by promising her equity in a venture he knew at the time would not provide her with any equity opportunities.”
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