In 2004, the Suns signed free agent Steve Nash (who had blossomed for the Dallas Mavericks after being traded from Phoenix six years earlier), and returned into playoff contention. However, the team would again fail to win a championship, and entered into another period of mediocrity until the early part of the 2000s. Under Johnson, and after trading for perennial NBA All-Star Charles Barkley, and combined with the output of Tom Chambers and Dan Majerle, the Suns reached the playoffs for a franchise-record thirteen consecutive appearances and remained a regular title contender throughout the 1990s, and reached the 1993 NBA Finals. However, after failing to capture a championship, the Suns would rebuild around Walter Davis for a majority of the 1980s, until the acquisition of Kevin Johnson in 1988. The franchise began play in 1968 as an expansion team, and their early years were shrouded in mediocrity, but their fortunes changed in the 1970s after partnering Dick Van Arsdale and Alvan Adams with Paul Westphal the team reached the 1976 NBA Finals, in what is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. The Suns are one of four major league sports teams based in the Phoenix area, but are the only one to bill themselves as representing the city (the other teams - the Cardinals, Coyotes, and Diamondbacks - all bill themselves as representing the state of Arizona). The Suns are the only team in their division not to be based in California, and play their home games at the Footprint Center. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Jerry Colangelo, who sold the team to a group led by Sarver in 2004 for a then-record $401 million, told ESPN that he's optimistic about the franchise's path ahead.The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Sarver owns about a third of the franchise, but he has the authority as the team's managing partner to sell the team in full. Suns vice chairman and minority owner Sam Garvin is the team's interim governor. The NBA commissioned that investigation in the wake of an ESPN story in November 2021 detailing allegations of racism and misogyny during Sarver's 17 years as owner. That came in the wake of an NBA investigation into allegations of misconduct by Sarver, who had been suspended one year and fined $10 million. 21 that he was seeking buyers for both franchises. Sarver, the majority owner of both the Suns and Mercury, announced Sept. For any transfer of ownership to be complete, the NBA board of governors will vote, with approval requiring a three-fourths majority. Once a final bidder is chosen, that person - or group - must be approved by the NBA, which will conduct financial, personal and criminal background checks. Investment bank officials have been in contact with Sarver on behalf of potential bidders, team sources said, including reaching out on the day that Sarver announced his intent to sell. The Suns did not respond to a request for comment. That timeline would stretch through the 2022-23 season. In recent days, Suns executive vice president and CFO Jim Pitman relayed to team employees that a fully executed sale of the team could take six to nine months, team sources said. Moelis also acted as a financial adviser in the 2015 sale of the Atlanta Hawks to a group led by Tony Ressler for $850 million. Moelis served as a financial adviser in the May 2022 sale of Chelsea Football Club to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, which bought the team for $5.3 billion. Sportico reported Monday that Sarver had chosen the bank. Sarver has chosen the investment bank Moelis & Company to oversee the sale, a source close to the situation confirmed to ESPN. "There's going to be a tremendous amount of interest," an investment bank official said. Additional factors include a new television rights deal and CBA on the horizon, plus the NBA's young and growing global audience and the potential for new expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. Prior to that sale, Tilman Fertitta purchased the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017, with Steve Ballmer buying the LA Clippers for $2 billion in 2014.įactors playing into a potential record bid could be the Suns' warm-weather climate and proximity to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Bay Area, as well as the team's new practice facility and renovated arena. Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets for an NBA-record $2.35 billion in 2019. "It'll be the highest price ever paid for an NBA team," one investment bank official said. As Robert Sarver prepares to sell the NBA's Phoenix Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, investment bank officials who have managed the sales of professional sports franchises told ESPN that they expect the transaction's final price to set a record.
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