Nets layoffs point to lean times; with fewer front-office staff, it will be harder to reap sponsorships
Nets coach Lawrence Frank has done a reasonably good job developing young talent, but other coaches with his mixed record get the boot.
So, will team officials Wednesday announce Frank's departure, with one year left on his contract? One reason he might stay, according to the Daily News's Julian Garcia: the team doesn't want to pay him $4.5 million next year not to coach, given losses topping $30 million.
Effort at savings
Al Iannazzone reports on the money factor:
There have been a few waves of layoffs in the Nets' offices. About 10 were let go from midweek on. Also, the Nets won't have a summer league team, per se. They're joining forces with the Sixers for summer league to help split the costs.
And insider NetIncome (aka Bobbo) offers some details I haven't seen elsewhere:
This franchise has a lot bigger problems than the coach. When you fire 10 people, including some very high priced marketing, sales, and sponsorship people, and are looking at an uncertain future in Brooklyn–or new ownership–it signals a real instability in the franchise.
I truly wouldn’t be surprised if next season was the Nets’ last in New Jersey or New York.
NI/Bobbo has supported the Brooklyn move vociferously, contentiously, and sometimes misleadingly, in part because he doesn't think the Nets have a future in New Jersey and doesn't want to lose the team. But this is the first time I've noticed such pessimism.
Indeed, if the Nets are firing people working on sponsorships, that's going to make it harder to a sign those additional sponsors they need for the increasingly-distant Barclays Center.
So, will team officials Wednesday announce Frank's departure, with one year left on his contract? One reason he might stay, according to the Daily News's Julian Garcia: the team doesn't want to pay him $4.5 million next year not to coach, given losses topping $30 million.
Effort at savings
Al Iannazzone reports on the money factor:
There have been a few waves of layoffs in the Nets' offices. About 10 were let go from midweek on. Also, the Nets won't have a summer league team, per se. They're joining forces with the Sixers for summer league to help split the costs.
And insider NetIncome (aka Bobbo) offers some details I haven't seen elsewhere:
This franchise has a lot bigger problems than the coach. When you fire 10 people, including some very high priced marketing, sales, and sponsorship people, and are looking at an uncertain future in Brooklyn–or new ownership–it signals a real instability in the franchise.
I truly wouldn’t be surprised if next season was the Nets’ last in New Jersey or New York.
NI/Bobbo has supported the Brooklyn move vociferously, contentiously, and sometimes misleadingly, in part because he doesn't think the Nets have a future in New Jersey and doesn't want to lose the team. But this is the first time I've noticed such pessimism.
Indeed, if the Nets are firing people working on sponsorships, that's going to make it harder to a sign those additional sponsors they need for the increasingly-distant Barclays Center.
I posted a comment here yesterday under the frank gehry story, but it never appeared on the webpage.
ReplyDeleteThe comment was regarding the nets layoffs and also the pending arena management deal between the new jersey sports & exposition authority and the pru center in newark.
My comment was off-topic only because you had yet to post the layoff story.
I would appreciate a response here or @ my email address.
Net Income/Bobbo/DoctorPhil/etc... keeps raising the red herring about the nets moving to seattle/kansas city/st louis/las vegas/etc... when the brooklyn move is finally pulled off life-support.
ReplyDeleteThis is complete and utter nonsense. In 25 years as nba commissioner, david stern has NEVER ONCE suggested or even hinted at the possibility of the nets leaving the metro-ny area.
Stern has repeatedly talked about the nets relocating WITHIN the metro-ny area, but he has never once talked about them leaving the metro-ny area altogether.
The reason is obvious: the metro-ny area has about 10 times the residential and business population of the typical nba/nfl/nhl/mlb market.
MLB and the nfl each have 2 franchises here. The nhl has 3 franchises here. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that the nba will only have 1 franchise here.
The 29 other nba franchise owners aren't going to let the knicks have the entire metro-ny market all to themselves, especially since so many of those franchises would love to relocate here themselves.
I reserve the right to post comments or not.
ReplyDeleteOff-topic comments can be sent to my email address.
That's fair enough. Just wanted to know the reason why my comment wasn't approved. Thanks for the response.
ReplyDeleteRegarding whether or not the nets can thrive in nj, specifically newark, nj.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is a resounding YES THEY CAN!!!!!
For proof, look no further than the nj devils' financial success since moving from east rutherford to newark (see forbes.com annual review of the finances of nhl franchises).
In their final season in east rutherford (2006-07), the devils lost $15 million, placing them 30th and dead-last in the league in profits/losses. The following season in newark(2007-08), the devils earned a $2 million profit, placing them 13th in the league in profits/losses.
From 2006-07 to 2007-08, the devils jumped from 28th to 8th in the league in total revenues.
Among the 24 nhl franchises in the u.s.(6 are in canada), the devils ranked 4th in ticket sales for 2007-08.
The devils are clearly thriving in newark, even though hockey is not an urban sport, and even though the nation's economic climate has been very unfavorable.
With basketball being the ultimate city sport and the nation's economy eventually recovering, the nets would enjoy even greater financial success in newark than the devils have.