02-24-2007, 07:00 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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-PREMIUM MEMBER-
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: North Carolina
Age: 18
Posts: 3,165
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Johnson backs up Jordans claim
Quote:
"I didn't spend $300 million for a franchise not to have a winning team," Johnson told the Observer on Friday in an interview.
Q. What was the purpose of Michael Jordan's letter to season-ticket holders? What we've got to do is dispel this notion that this organization is not committed to putting a winning product on the court. I didn't spend $300 million for a franchise not to have a winning team. I don't know where that (notion) came from, other than I'm a business guy who wants to make money. And clearly there are winning teams that make money, so it's not a foreign idea. The question is, how to do it?
Q. OK. How to do it? We have business models that show if we do well on the court and in the community and as a management team, it's a very good business. You've got to invest capital to get to be profitable, then, once it's profitable, you continue to run it smartly. The correlation for us is that we've got to win -- which is what we're on the cusp of -- and then win some more. Then you've got fan appeal and fan satisfaction. Then you've got fan competition to get into the arena. Now, we don't do a cost benefit on players we might sign: Who is going to get us more sponsors and ticket sales? But we do talk about which one is better in the community, in the team's culture and for fan appeal. That should translate into the financial equation.
Q. Why have there been no major free-agent signings yet? Has there been a change-agent out there to sign? No. You can't put a winning product on the floor if there ain't no winning product to buy.
Q. How close are you to having a winner on the court? You only need two solid "A" players and a few more "B" players. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Fill in some role players around them.
Q. You signed a letter to the NBA recently with seven other owners suggesting it was impossible for small-market teams to turn a profit without revenue sharing. Can you explain that? If you spend up to the (salary) cap, then small-market teams spend 81 to 82 percent of their income on players. That's almost impossible for a market to be profitable. The average for the (larger) teams is 57 percent of their income is spent on players. So how does the league create an environment so that every team has an equal opportunity to succeed?
Q. How has Jordan's first year gone, and are you satisfied with his relationship with coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff? It's been pretty seamless. The first thing he did was to get into Bernie's head: "Tell me what you've got. How are you managing what you've got?" He got comfortable that Bernie was doing it right.
Q. Rap artist Nelly, one of the Bobcats' minority owners, is in the news for being at a Las Vegas strip club where a fight broke out and three people were shot during NBA all-star weekend. He's not accused of any wrongdoing. Your reaction? I wasn't there, so I don't know what went on.
Q. Will Bickerstaff remain as coach and general manager, or just as general manager? You'll have to ask Michael.
Q. Do you anticipate re-signing Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace and Matt Carroll this summer? You're talking to the wrong guy.
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Johnson backs up Jordans claim
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