Who knows what these franchises are really worth, though the so called "experts" all say he overpaid.
I don't think anyone is going to disagree that there aren't great revenue streams available. Who knows whats the future holds with streaming( potentially it could be huge), and we already know the Clippers are due a nice TV deal coming up.
I think the long term demise of the Lakers is a little overblown. The overall hatred for the Lakers is clouding some people's thoughts. In 2005 this team was bad , not 2014 bad but bad. 3 seasons later they are in the title game. This is still the Lakers, and while the current CBA places restrictions on the team it is one of only a handful of franchises that will do what it takes to win ( they will pay into the luxury tax). I'm assuming the players will opt out of this CBA when they can in two years, and my guess with the way these owners are throwing around money for teams the salary cap will increase. That helps the Lakers. Also I could see maximum contracts going away in some degree, that would obviously help the Lakers( maximum contracts are stupid IMO, but thats another debate).
Lets also not act like the Clippers are serious title contenders right now, they aren't. I've said this before, but I just have a hard time believing they are gaining much of any of the market in LA by making it to the Western conference semis
Clippers could and probably would gain some market share over the Lakers if teams continue in the same direction for the next couple of years, but supplant them in any reasonable time frame ( next 10 years) no way.
Also, the profitably for the Lakers is better for any reasonable timeframe (id say at least 10 years). I think you could argue much better. They have a TV deal that Clippers can't touch.
Also Phil Anshutz *(sp?) owns about 30% of the Lakers( I may have this wrong but Buss agreed to sell him this percentage in order to have 25 years rent free or something like that). His company (Aeg) owns Staples. So Lakers are essentially rent free , while the CLIPS are paying tenants.There are 9 years left on that deal for the Clippers
So much better TV deal and much better Arena deal. That isn't going to change anytime soon
Now there are rumors floating around that Phil Anshutz, who owns the Kings is selling the team along with Staples. Ballmer is rumored to be the interested buyer. Phil came out last week and denied he was selling the Kings. That would certainly change things a bit if Ballmer was able to gain ownership of Staples
