Phoenix Suns owner and Mercury owner Robert Sarver announced last month that they are selling both teams. This comes on the heels of a third-party investigation that found Sarver committed multiple workplace crimes, including racial and sexual insults and employee bullying. Sarver was suspended for a year from the team’s activities and fined $10 million.
We previously found out about former Disney CEO Bob Iger’s interest in buying the team, but he’s not the only one. Shaquille O’Neal Recently told TMZ Sports That he would like to own the Suns – although there are other billionaires in the mix, that can be tough.
Jeff Bezos has been identified as a potential buyer, as are Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Lauren Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’ widow. O’Neill said he “would be happy to talk to” Bezos about joining his ownership team. As Shaq knows from his playing days, it often takes a strong teammate to win a title.
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“But in terms of trying to have a whole team on my own and having a face – let me tell you something, I’m afraid of Big Man JB. Chuck O’Neal is afraid of Big Man JB,” O’Neal said.
Sarver released a statement saying he thought he could take his comment and “focus, make up and remove my personal controversy from the teams I love and many of my fans.” He added that “it became painfully clear that this is no longer possible” and announced his decision to sell the team.
Sports franchises are multibillion dollar projects, so whoever buys the team will have to make a lot of money. O’Neill has managed his money well but will definitely need to bring in additional funding anyway. Despite the highly publicized split with his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott, Bezos remains one of the richest people in the world. In business terms, the pairing makes sense.
O’Neal also played for the Suns during the end of his career, from 2007 to 2009. That was shortly after Sarver bought the team, and it’s possible that O’Neal still knows a lot of people in the organization.
There is a lot of interest in a pair of teams just two years after their respective league finals. And while he doubts your perfection, it could mean the end of his career Inside the NBAWe bet he has a lot of fun things to say as an owner.
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