马刺1996-97赛季实录（560+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10

对出售圣安东尼奥马刺队的交易保持怀疑

当圣安东尼奥马刺队的老板们今天举行会议时，他们应该向他们的董事长、退休将军和美国联合服务汽车协会名誉主席罗伯特-麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)提出一些尖锐的问题。麦克德莫特正在独自尝试将这支美国国家篮球协会球队出售给来自新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的马卢夫家族。

我们对老板们的建议是：谨慎行事，如果要出售，也要慢慢来。

每个人似乎都拥有相同的目标：

• 保留马刺队在圣安东尼奥。
• 在可预见的未来，为他们建造一座新的球馆作为他们的主场，尽可能地由私人资金资助。

事实上，未来的老板们也和现在的马刺队管理层表示了相同的观点：建造一座球馆对于马刺队在圣安东尼奥的生存至关重要。

那么问题就变成了，如何最好地实现这两个目标？

如果现在的投资者正在寻找一个体面的退出方式和不错的投资回报，他们已经找到了。

但如果他们的目标仍然是让马刺队留在圣安东尼奥，当地的投资者提供了最好的保证。

如果新集团在未来几年内无法获得球馆，他们无疑会发现一些城市渴望为他们离开圣安东尼奥而支付的3000万美元罚款提供资金。

新出现的关键人物是彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)，他最近购买了马刺队13.37%的股份。

他说：“我买下这支球队不是为了出售它。”

现在的老板们可能会面临两个选择：

• 他们会出售还是保留他们的投资？
• 谁将领导他们？如果他们拒绝这个提议，霍尔特可能会获得更大的影响力，甚至可能成为董事长。

点击查看原文：Look skeptically on deal to sell this city's Spurs

Look skeptically on deal to sell this city’s Spurs

When the San Antonio Spurs owners meet today, they should fire some tough questions at their chairman, retired general and USAA chairman emeritus Robert McDermott. McDermott, on his own, is trying to negotiate a sale of the National Basketball Association team, to the Maloof family of Albuquerque, N.M.

Our advice to the owners: Go slow - if at all.

Everyone appears to have the same objectives:

- Keep the Spurs in San Antonio.

- Within the foreseeable future, build a new arena as their home, financed privately to the extent possible.

In fact, the would-be owners echo what the current Spurs management has said: An arena is necessary to make the Spurs viable in San Antonio.

The question then becomes, how are these two goals best accomplished?

If current investors are looking for a face-saving way out and a decent return on their investment, they’ve found it.

But if their goal remains to keep the Spurs in town, the local investors offer the best assurance for doing so.

Should the new group not get an arena in the next few years, it undoubtedly will find cities eager to finance the $30 million penalty it would face in leaving San Antonio.

The new key figure is Peter Holt, who recently bought a 13.37 percent share of the Spurs.

He has said: “I didn’t buy into this team to sell it.”

The current owners likely will face two choices:

- Will they sell or retain their investment?

- Who will lead them? If they reject this offer, look for Holt to emerge with increased clout and probably the chairmanship.

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10, By Tom Bower and Carmina Danini Express-News Staff Writers

桑顿指责球队未与市政府协商

圣安东尼奥市长比尔-桑顿(Bill Thornton)周二对球队官员表示强烈不满，原因是他总是从媒体那里得知有关收购马刺队的最新提案，而不是从球队官员那里。桑顿怒斥球队官员在与潜在买家商谈时没有将市政府工作人员纳入其中。“我是一个马刺球迷，我承诺要让马刺留在圣安东尼奥，但让人难以接受的是，这些提案都是通过媒体发布的，而不是马刺工作人员与市政府工作人员进行沟通。

“他们想要在没有邀请我们参与的情况下，将城市视为交易的一方，这怎么可能实现？”他问道。

贝克萨尔县法官辛迪-克里尔(Cyndi Krier)表示，提议的3000万美元“搬迁罚款”并不能保证球队会留在圣安东尼奥。

市议员小罗伯特-马布特(Robert Marbut Jr.)补充说，在如今竞争激烈的NBA球队市场中，其他城市很容易提出支付这样的罚款。

根据新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的马卢夫家族周二解释的提议，该提案将提交给马刺队的管理团队，马卢夫家族将以9000万美元现金收购球队，并且新的所有者将获得全部的餐饮和停车收入，而球队将继续在阿拉莫圆顶球场进行比赛。

此外，新的所有者还提议在弗里曼会展中心附近为新球场提供资金并建造新球场，大约需要花费8600万美元，前提是市政府和县政府提供土地和基础设施。

一旦球队在新球场里比赛一年，新的所有者将向现有的管理团队支付额外的3000万美元。

如果球队被迁走，现有的管理团队将获得3000万美元的“搬迁罚款”。

“如果协议中没有‘如果我们搬迁’这样的条款，而是‘我们不会搬迁’这样的条款，我会感觉好一些，”克里尔说。

“搬迁罚款条款并不能保证他们不会搬迁。这并不能说服我。在NBA圈子里，这还不到一名优秀球员的合同，”这位县法官补充道。

克里尔强调，市政府和县政府已经同意共同努力，将球队留在圣安东尼奥。她说，县政府可以提供的土地位于会展中心附近。

周二在市政厅被联系的桑顿表示，他曾在私下和公开场合告诉马刺队代表，他们必须将任何提案提交给市政府。

“我从未听说过他们的名字（马卢夫兄弟）或关于公私合营的消息，直到今天，”他说。

市长补充说，无论是马刺队、董事会成员还是马卢夫兄弟，都没有向市政府工作人员告知正在进行的谈判。

马布特代表第八区议会，他指出，组建现有的管理团队的初衷是为了确保球队留在圣安东尼奥。

他说，3000万美元的“毒丸”搬迁罚款应该提供给当地公共机构，因为如果球队搬迁，他们将遭受最大的损失。

“我一直在听到的交易对社区来说是一笔非常糟糕的交易——贝克萨尔县和圣安东尼奥。3000万美元，当你谈论的是一支NBA球队的时候，根本不算什么。

“现有的管理团队没有赚到一分钱。他们一直在偿还债务。这就是为什么这些提议非常非常严肃。我们可能在两年后醒来，发现球队已经消失了。另一个想要NBA球队的城市，比如纳什维尔，可以很容易地同意支付搬迁罚款，”马布特说。

第一区议员罗杰-弗洛雷斯(Roger Flores)表示，在议会没有与马刺队或马卢夫兄弟进行过沟通的情况下，他很难做出任何评估。

弗洛雷斯还质疑为新球场考虑的土地是否存在地契限制。

“我认为这块土地应该用于农业用途或农业推广，这一点也需要考虑，”弗洛雷斯说。

代表第五区的议员胡安-索利斯(Juan Solis)表示，马刺队不能由委员会管理。

“(彼得)霍尔特很重要，因为他为球队带来了一个统一的愿景，我希望他能够带头，”索利斯说。

他补充道：“我一点也不想看到马刺队离开。”

点击查看原文：Thornton rips team for not consulting city

Thornton rips team for not consulting city

Mayor Bill Thornton, angry over always learning of the latest proposal to purchase the Spurs from the media, blasted team officials Tuesday for not including city staff in discussions with potential suitors. "I’m a Spurs fan and I’ve made a commitment to keep the Spurs in San Antonio, but what makes it difficult is that these proposals have been presented through the media instead of the Spurs staff communicating with city staff.

“How do they want to accomplish that sale when they ask the city to be one of the parties but never invite us to dance?” he asked.

Bexar County Judge Cyndi Krier said the proposed $30 million “moving penalty” is no assurance the team would stay in San Antonio.

City Councilman Robert Marbut Jr. added that in today’s hot competition for NBA teams, it would be nothing for another city to offer to pay such a penalty.

According to an offer explained Tuesday by the Maloof family of Albuquerque, N.M., and to be presented to the Spurs ownership group

today, the team would be bought for $90 million cash with the understanding that the new owners would get 100 percent of the concessions and parking revenues while the team continues to play in the Alamodome.

In addition, the new owners are proposing to finance and build a new arena somewhere near the Freeman Coliseum for around $86 million, if the city and the county will contribute the land and infrastructure.

Once the team has played in the new arena for a year, the new owners would pay the current ownership group an additional $30 million.

If the team is moved, the current owners would be paid a $30 million “moving penalty.”

"I would feel better about the agreement if it didn’t have a clause that said if we move' and instead had a clause that said we won’t move,’ " Krier said.

“A moving penalty clause is not security that they won’t move. That doesn’t convince me. In NBA circles, that’s less than one good player’s contract,” the county judge added.

Krier stressed that the city and the county had agreed to work together to keep the team in San Antonio. She said what the county has to offer is land in the vicinity of the coliseum.

Thornton, contacted Tuesday at City Hall, said he had privately and publicly told Spurs representatives they must bring any proposals before the city.

“I’ve never heard their name (the Maloof brothers) or about a private-public partnership until today,” he said.

No one - neither the Spurs, board members nor the Maloof brothers - has advised city staff about ongoing negotiations, the mayor added.

Marbut, representing council District 8, noted the original idea behind forming the current ownership group was to ensure the team stays in San Antonio.

He said the “poison pill” $30 million moving penalty should be offered to local public entities, which have the most to lose if the team moves.

"The deal I keep hearing about is a very bad deal for the community - Bexar County and San Antonio. Thirty million dollars, when you’re talking about an NBA franchise, is not much at all.

“The current ownership hasn’t earned one red cent. They’ve been paying down the debt. That’s why these offers are very, very serious. We could all wake up two years from now and see the team gone. Another city that wants an NBA team, such as Nashville, could easily agree to pick up that moving penalty,” Marbut said.

District 1 Councilman Roger Flores said he found it difficult to make any assessment when the council had not spoken with the Spurs or the Maloof brothers.

Flores also questioned whether there are deed restrictions on the land under consideration for a new arena.

“I think that land is supposed to be used for agricultural purposes or promotion of agriculture and that also needs to be looked at,” Flores said.

Councilman Juan Solis, who represents District 5, said the Spurs cannot be run by committee.

“(Peter) Holt was important because he brought a single vision for the team, and I hope he will take the lead,” Solis said.

He added: “I’m not interested in seeing the Spurs leave at all.”

By Tom Bower and Carmina Danini Express-News Staff Writers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10, By Carlos Guerra

真是同一个3000万美元吗？

嘿，我们到底在骗谁呢？如果罗伯特-麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)将军昨天提出的出售马刺队的交易方案能够达成，那么五年后他们就会离开这里。现在的老板将会收回他们的投资，取消他们的债务，赚取可观的利润，并且在五年后他们将收到3000万美元。

最棒的是，他们将逃脱失去这座城市唯一的职业体育特许经营权的责任。

但是麦克德莫特不是说，一项价值3000万美元的建造新球场的激励措施以及“如果马刺队离开，将自愿支付3000万美元的罚款”是交易的一部分吗？

是的。但是，就像马刺队目前的老板一样，潜在的买家做生意不是为了亏钱。他们说，球队只有在建造一个新的球场的情况下才能生存 - 建在一个免费的公共土地上，并配有停车设施。

而“激励措施”和“罚款”是同一个3000万美元，我会解释原因。

追求者为球队提供了9000万美元。他们将首先支付现任老板6000万美元现金 - 其中700万美元用于偿还马刺队目前的债务 - 剩下的5300万美元用于一个现在的老板以据报道的4000万美元买下的特许经营权。他们还将承担现任老板的3000万美元长期债务。

麦克德莫特说，如果你相信的话，他会鼓励现任老板将他们的利润投资到一个新的球场，但也承认有些人不会这样做。

买家表示，他们将额外投入3000万美元用于建造一个新的球场，但现在的老板必须帮助筹集额外的资金，并从公共部门那里争取免费的土地和停车设施，如果新的球场要建成的话。

只有在马刺队在新球场打了整整一年后，现任老板才会收到承诺的9000万美元中的另外3000万美元。

加文-马卢夫(Gavin Maloof)说，如果“四年或五年后我们还在阿拉莫穹顶，并且还在亏钱”，他们将被迫把球队带到其他地方，但他们同意为搬迁球队支付现任老板3000万美元的罚款。

但是，6000万美元的初始现金支付用于球队，3000万美元投资于一个新的球场，3000万美元的第二笔款项用于在一个新的球场打一年，以及3000万美元用于离开，这些加起来并不等于买家在这笔交易中承担的1.5亿美元风险。

他们将支付前6000万美元，并在提供的3000万美元的球场投资上坐等，直到剩余的资金到位。只有在球场建成 - 预计需要五年时间 - 并且马刺队在那里打了一年，现任老板才会收到他们的3000万美元的第二笔款项。

如果五年左右的时间内没有建成球场，追求者将向现任老板支付3000万美元的“自愿罚款”然后离开。

虽然马卢夫兄弟承诺搬到圣安东尼奥并居住在那里，但他们并没有说过要让马刺队在那里待超过五年 - 无论是否有新的球场。与大多数现任马刺队老板不同，他们在圣安东尼奥没有其他商业利益，所以他们可以带着马刺队离开。

所以事情就是这样。

如果现任老板出售球队并帮助为一个新的球场筹集资金，并且如果马刺队在那里打了一年，他们将收回他们的投资，取消他们的债务，赚取可观的利润，并且在五年后他们将收到3000万美元。

如果他们出售了马刺队，但没有建成球场，他们会得到什么？

他们将收回他们的投资，取消他们的债务，赚取可观的利润，并且在五年后他们将收到3000万美元。

有人能解释一下，为什么我们还要费力地去建一个新的球场吗？

点击查看原文：Is the same $30 million being paid?

Is the same $30 million being paid?

Hey, just who are we kidding? If the deal outlined yesterday by Gen. Robert McDermott to sell the Spurs goes through, they’ll be outta here in five years. The current owners will recoup their investment, cancel their debt, make a tidy profit, and five years later they’ll receive $30 million.

Best of all, they’ll escape the blame for losing the city’s one professional sports franchise.

But didn’t McDermott say that a $30 million incentive to build a new arena and “a self-imposed penalty of $30 million if the Spurs leave” were part of the deal?

Yes. But like the Spurs’ current owners, the potential buyers aren’t in business to lose money. They say the team can only be viable if a new arena is built - on free public land with parking facilities.

And the “incentive” and “penalty” are the same $30 million, as I’ll explain.

The suitors are offering $90 million for the team. They will pay the current owners $60 million cash initially - $7 million of which

will pay off current Spurs debts - leaving $53 million for a franchise the current owners bought for a reported $40 million. They will also assume the current owners’ $30 million long-term debt.

McDermott said, if you can believe this, he would encourage the current owners to invest their profit in a new arena, but conceded that some wouldn’t.

The buyers said they would invest an added $30 million for a new arena, but the present owners would have to help raise the additional money needed and hustle free land and parking facilities from the public sector if the new arena is to work.

Only after the Spurs have played a full year in a new arena would the current owners be paid the additional $30 million of the $90 million promised.

If after “four or five years we’re still in the Alamodome and losing money,” Gavin Maloof said, they would be forced to take the team elsewhere, but they agreed to pay the present owners a $30 million penalty for moving the team.

But a $60 million initial cash payment for the team, a $30 million investment in a new arena, a $30 million second payment for playing in a new arena one year and $30 million for leaving do not add up to a $150 million risk for the buyers in this deal.

They’ll pay the first $60 million and sit on the $30 million arena investment offered until the rest of financing materializes. Only if the arena is built - in an estimated five-year period - and the Spurs play there a full year will the current owners receive their $30 million second payment.

If no arena is built within five years or so, the suitors will pay the current owners the $30 million “self-imposed penalty” and leave.

While the Maloof brothers promise to move and live in San Antonio, they’ve said nothing about keeping the Spurs here for more than five years - new arena or no new arena. And unlike most current Spurs owners, they have no other business interests in San Antonio, so they’ll be able to leave with the Spurs.

So there you have it.

If the current owners sell the team and help finance a new arena, and if the Spurs play in it for one year, they’ll recoup their investment, cancel their debt, make a tidy profit, and five years later they’ll receive $30 million.

If they sell the Spurs and no arena is built, what will they get?

They’ll recoup their investment, cancel their debt, make a tidy profit, and five years later, they’ll receive $30 million.

Will someone explain why we should even go through the motions of building a new arena?

By Carlos Guerra, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10, By Charlotte-Anne Lucas and Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writers

马洛夫家族的收购提议：马科德莫特称其为“NBA历史上最大规模的现金收购”

圣安东尼奥马刺队主席罗伯特-马科德莫特(Robert McDermott)周二透露了球队出售给一个富有的新墨西哥家族的交易细节，该交易总额为1.2亿美元，将在几年内支付完毕。在潜在买家乔-马洛夫(Joe Maloof)和加文-马洛夫(Gavin Maloof)的陪同下，马科德莫特表示，他们二人计划以9000万美元的现金收购球队，并在未来支付剩余的3000万美元。

马刺队的现任老板在1993年以8500万美元的价格买下了这支球队。

马科德莫特称这笔交易是“NBA历史上最大规模的现金收购”，并表示这“似乎是让马刺队在财务上保持活力的最佳方式”。

然而，这笔交易取决于圣安东尼奥市是否放弃或减少从马刺队在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆获得的资金，而市政府一直对此持抵触态度。

此外，这笔交易还需要市政府或县政府在提供新的体育馆的免费土地和基础设施方面进行合作。

市长比尔-索恩顿(Bill Thornton)表示，他本人和他所在的团队都没有接到关于这笔交易的任何联络，对于在周二的《圣安东尼奥快报》上看到这则消息感到愤怒。

他问道：“他们在要求城市成为交易方之一，但从不邀请我们参与谈判的情况下，他们是如何想要完成这笔交易的？”

马科德莫特补充说，马洛夫的提议“将为目前的投资者带来完全意想不到的财务收益，让他们能够收回投资并获得可观的利润”。

该提议包括马洛夫家族支付5300万美元的现金，偿还球队700万美元的未偿债务，并承担球队3000万美元的债务。

在支付完9000万美元后，马洛夫家族将在未来某个日期再支付3000万美元。

马刺队在本赛季首次出现亏损，尽管球队官员没有公布具体金额。

此外，官方还预计球队将在下个赛季继续亏损。

马刺队老板将于今天上午听取这笔交易的详细信息，考虑到球队的新任老板彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)在周一表示“他并非为了出售球队而购买它”，此次会议可能会变得针锋相对。

马科德莫特、马洛夫兄弟和两名被雇用来推广这笔交易的公关代表周二来到《快报》解释这笔交易。

在近一个小时的会议中，马科德莫特和马洛夫兄弟描述了这笔交易。

其他所有者都没有出席，据报道他们正在私下讨论这笔交易。

在与《快报》的记者和编辑进行的会面，以及在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆举行的新闻发布会之前，马科德莫特将矛头指向了霍尔特。

“他三年前在哪里？”他问道，指的是1993年，当时马科德莫特组织了一群22名投资者买下了球队，并将球队留在圣安东尼奥。

霍尔特周二拒绝回应马科德莫特的言论。

他说：“我对此没有回应。我将参加会议…在那里讨论这类事情。我不知道会议会进行得如何。”

球队老板表示，投资者对于如何应对这笔收购提议存在分歧。

球队内部的关键消息人士表示，马科德莫特预计一些老板会试图将他从主席职位上赶下台。

其他人则表示，马洛夫的提议正在获得支持，即使是在过去经常对马科德莫特的领导能力感到失望的老板中也是如此。

马科德莫特周二表示，他得到了球队最大股东盖洛德地产公司的支持，该公司持有马刺队18.41%的股份。

盖洛德地产公司的代表拒绝发表评论。

霍尔特是第二大股东，持有13.37%的股份，他反对马洛夫的收购提议。霍尔特表示，他希望增加自己在球队中的股份。

周二，其他投资者中只有很少一部分同意讨论此事。

但马洛夫兄弟周二表示，只要任何交易都能让他们获得控股权，他们愿意接受低于100%的球队所有权。

马洛夫的收购提议还包括一个建设新体育馆的条款，马科德莫特表示，这个体育馆的建造只需要很少的公共资金。

他表示，收购协议将让马洛夫家族在未来某个时间支付给现任老板3000万美元，届时球队将在新体育馆打完整个赛季，或者他们决定将球队搬走。

在此期间，马洛夫家族将要求该市给予他们阿拉莫圆顶体育馆的更多，如果不是全部的话，那么至少要给予他们所有特许经营收入。

马刺队在上个赛季将320万美元的特许经营收入支付给了该市。

马科德莫特表示，该计划将激励现任老板帮助球队获得新的体育馆，因为他们只有在新体育馆建成后才能获得这3000万美元。

马科德莫特表示，对于现任投资者来说，问题是马洛夫家族会要求他们将这笔钱再投资到体育馆。

他说：“投资者可以将他们的利润滚动到一个用于为体育馆融资的基金中。”

马科德莫特承认，一些投资者——包括来自俄克拉荷马城的盖洛德地产公司和来自费城的ARA RBI公司——不太可能放弃这笔钱。

他说：“现实地说，我不希望那些不是来自圣安东尼奥的老板把他们的钱投资到这里。”

然而，他表示，如果这意味着球队将留在圣安东尼奥，当地投资者可能会被激励进行再投资。

但如果新的体育馆没有建成，老板仍然可以获得额外的3000万美元，这要归功于马科德莫特所说的“自我强加的”搬迁罚款。

如果球队无法获得新的比赛场馆，并且继续亏损，马洛夫家族将向出售球队给他们的投资者支付3000万美元。

马洛夫兄弟家族的财富来自新墨西哥州的啤酒经销商，以及银行、卡车运输和赌场等方面的投资。他们承诺，如果交易获得批准，他们将搬到圣安东尼奥。

马科德莫特于7月1日首次向球队最大股东提出了马洛夫的收购提议。

当时，所有权集团的消息人士表示，霍尔特试图扼杀这项提议。

所有权集团决定继续讨论此事，直到今天上午的会议，届时所有权成员将直接听取马洛夫家族的意见。

所有权成员表示，这3000万美元的搬迁罚款不在马洛夫家族的最初提议中。

当被问及他们家族是否有足够的财力完成这笔收购时，加文-马洛夫表示，他和他的兄弟最近“与（NBA总裁）大卫-斯特恩(David Stern)进行了会谈，他对我们的财务状况和家族感到满意。”

该家族曾经拥有休斯顿火箭队。

马洛夫说：“他希望我们回到NBA。”

马科德莫特表示，马洛夫家族希望吸引额外的投资者帮助建造一个新的体育馆，该体育馆“至少…将是一个公私合作项目”，在最好的情况下，将完全由私人融资。

他表示，他们二人建议圣安东尼奥市或贝克萨尔县为新的体育馆捐赠土地、基础设施和停车场。

马科德莫特表示，最好将新的体育馆建在东休斯顿街的弗里曼体育馆附近，靠近35号州际公路。

马科德莫特表示，他也会鼓励现任老板同意在交易初期获得更少的利润。

马科德莫特说：“有了新的体育馆，球队将在圣安东尼奥非常有竞争力。”

球队的21个个人和公司所有者表示，他们不会长期补贴球队的亏损。

马科德莫特和其他老板都同意，球队需要一个拥有利润丰厚的豪华包厢和其他设施的新体育馆，以保持其财务状况良好。

这是第一个不依赖纳税人资金的体育馆详细提案。

现任球队所有者是谁？

盖洛德地产公司*、彼得-M-霍尔特、ARA RBI公司*、扎克里酒店*、动能概念公司和詹姆斯-R-莱宁格*、SBC通信公司*、瓦莱罗管理公司、国际银行股份公司、斯蒂芬-朗、欧文-A-马修斯夫人、杰克-迪勒*、R&B合伙公司（罗素和布鲁斯-希尔）、雷蒙德-巴什克、保罗-R-马基、费利克斯-L-斯泰林、乔治-C-“蒂姆”·希克森*、清晰频道传播公司、罗伯特-F-马科德莫特*、西南商业公司、理查德-坎图信托基金、劳尔-S-坎图二世信托基金。

* 通用合伙人圣安东尼奥运动俱乐部公司的成员，该公司额外拥有1%的股份。

（请参见第6A页的图表，了解所有权比例。）

点击查看原文：Spurs owners weigh Maloof offer - McDermott: It's `largest cash offer' in NBA history

Spurs owners weigh Maloof offer - McDermott: It’s `largest cash offer’ in NBA history

San Antonio Spurs Chairman Robert McDermott revealed new details Tuesday of a deal that would mean selling the team to a wealthy New Mexico family for a total of $120 million, to be paid over a period of years. Flanked by would-be buyers Joe and Gavin Maloof, McDermott said the two propose to pay current owners $90 million now and $30 million later for the NBA franchise.

The Spurs owners paid $85 million for the team when they bought it in 1993.

McDermott called the package “the largest cash offer in the history of the NBA,” and said the offer “appears to be the best way to make the Spurs financially viable.”

The deal, however, hinges on the city of San Antonio either giving up or reducing the amount of money it receives from the Spurs at the Alamodome - something city officials have resisted.

In addition, it likely would require the cooperation of the city or county in granting free land and infrastructure for a new arena.

Mayor Bill Thornton said neither he nor his staff had been contacted about the proposal, and was angry to learn about the deal in Tuesday’s San Antonio Express-News.

“How do they want to accomplish that sale when they ask the city to be one of the parties but never invite us to dance?” he asked.

McDermott added the Maloof proposal “would provide a totally unexpected financial windfall for the current investors, allowing them to get back their investment plus a sizable profit.”

The proposal would have the Maloofs pay the owners $53 million in cash, pay off $7 million of the team’s outstanding bills and assume $30 million of the franchise’s debt.

After the $90 million, the Maloofs would pay another $30 million at a future date.

For the first time in its history, the franchise lost money last season, although team officials would not release the amount.

Also, official project additional losses next season.

Spurs owners are to hear details of the offer this morning at what promises to be a contentious meeting, given statements by the team’s newest owner, Peter Holt, who said Monday that he “didn’t buy into the team to sell it.”

McDermott, the Maloof brothers and two public relations representatives hired to promote the deal came to the Express-News Tuesday to explain the proposal.

In a nearly hourlong meeting, McDermott and the Maloof brothers described the proposal.

Conspicuous by their absence were any other owners, who reportedly were discussing the deal among themselves.

During the meeting with Express-News reporters and editors before a news conference at the Alamodome, McDermott took aim at Holt.

“Where was he three years ago?” he said, referring to 1993, when McDermott organized a group of 22 investors to buy and keep the team in San Antonio.

Holt declined to respond to McDermott’s comments Tuesday.

“I have no reply to that,” he said. “I’ll just go to the meeting. . . . where these type of things should be discussed. I have no idea on how the meeting will go.”

Team owners say investors are divided on how to respond to the offer.

Key sources on the team said McDermott expects some of the owners to try to unseat him from the chairmanship.

Others say the Maloof proposal is gathering support, even from owners who often have been exasperated with McDermott’s leadership in the past.

McDermott said Tuesday he had the support of the team’s biggest stakeholder, Gaylord Properties, which owns 18.41 percent of the Spurs.

Gaylord’s representative declined comment.

Holt, the second-largest owner, with 13.37 percent, opposes the Maloof offer. Holt says he wants to increase his stake in the team.

Few of the other investors agreed to discuss the situation Tuesday.

But the Maloof brothers said Tuesday they would accept less than 100 percent ownership of the team, as long as any deal gave them controlling interest.

The Maloofs’ offer also includes a provision for a new arena that McDermott said could be built with only a minimal amount of public money.

He said the buyout offer would have the Maloofs paying the current owners $30 million some time in the future - after the team has played a full season in a new arena or if they decide to move the team.

In the interim, the Maloofs would ask the city to give them more if not all of the concession receipts at the Alamodome.

The Spurs gave the city $3.2 million in concession receipts last season.

McDermott said the plan would give current owners an incentive to help the team get a new arena because they would not get the $30 million until the building became a reality.

The catch for the current investors, McDermott said, is that the Maloofs would ask them to turn around and invest that money back into the arena.

“Investors could roll over their profits into a fund for financing the arena,” he said.

McDermott acknowledged that some investors - including Gaylord Properties of Oklahoma City and ARA RBI Inc. of Philadelphia - wouldn’t be likely to give up the money.

“Realistically,” he said, “I do not expect the owners who are not from San Antonio to invest their money here.”

However, local investors, he said, might be motivated to reinvest if it meant the team would stay in San Antonio.

But if a new arena doesn’t materialize, the owners still could get an additional $30 million, thanks to what McDermott called a “self-imposed” moving penalty.

If the team cannot get a new venue and continues to lose money, the Maloofs would pay $30 million to the investors who sold them the team.

The Maloof brothers, whose family earned its wealth from a New Mexico beer distributorship and interests in a bank, trucking and casinos, pledged to move to San Antonio if the deal is approved.

McDermott first presented the Maloof proposal to the team’s largest stakeholders July 1.

At that time, sources in the ownership group said, Holt tried to kill the proposal.

The ownership group decided instead to continue the discussion to this morning’s meeting, where its members will hear directly from the Maloofs.

The $30 million moving penalty was not in the family’s original proposal, owners said.

Asked about his family’s financial wherewithal to pull off the purchase, Gavin Maloof said he and his brother recently “sat down with (NBA Commissioner) David Stern and he is comfortable with our finances and family.”

The family once owned the Houston Rockets.

“He wants us back in the NBA,” Maloof said of Stern.

McDermott said the Maloofs hope to bring in additional investors to help build a new arena that “at a minimum . . . be a private/public partnership,” and at best, be completely privately financed.

He said the pair propose that the city of San Antonio or Bexar County donate the land, infrastructure and parking facilities for a new arena.

McDermott said it would be best to locate a new arena near the Freeman Coliseum on East Houston Street near Interstate 35.

McDermott said he also would encourage current owners to agree to take less profit out of the deal at the outset.

“With a new arena, the team would be very viable in San Antonio,” McDermott said.

The team’s 21 individual and corporate owners have said they will not subsidize the franchise’s losses for an extended period.

McDermott and other owners agree that the team needs a new arena with lucrative luxury suites and other amenities to keep its finances in the black.

This is the first detailed proposal for an arena that does not require taxpayer financing. - - -

Who owns the team now?

Gaylord Properties*, Peter M. Holt, ARA RBI Inc.*, Zachry Hospitality*, Kinetic Concepts Inc. and James R. Leininger*, SBC Communications Inc.*, Valero Management Co., International Bancshares Corp., Stephen Lang, Mrs. Irving A. Mathews, Jack Diller*, R&B Partnership (Russell and Bruce Hill), Raymond Barshick, Paul R. Markey, Felix L. Stehling, George C. `Tim’ Hixon*, Clear Channel Communications, Robert F. McDermott*, Southwest Business Corp., Richard Cantu Trust, Raul S. Cantu Jr. Trust.

* Members of the general partner, the San Antonio Athletic Club Inc., which owns an additional 1 percent.

(See chart on page 6A for percentage of ownership.)

By Charlotte-Anne Lucas and Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10, By Kevin O’Keeffe

麦克德莫特似乎在享受他的最后辉煌

他谈论了古希腊、他在空军的过往和迪克西兰爵士乐。一旦离开了他准备好的演讲稿，马刺队董事会主席——至少目前是——罗伯特-F-麦克德莫特(Robert F. McDermott)在讨论新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基马洛夫家族(Maloof Family)提出的收购球队报价时，似乎有点迷茫。

在周二下午与《快报》编辑部的会面中，麦克德莫特首先开始了他的惯例——挖苦媒体。

麦克德莫特暗示，关于他正在努力促成的将马刺队出售给马洛夫家族的交易，有一些错误信息。乔和加文代表马洛夫家族出席了会议。

这两位年轻人是乔治-J-马洛夫(George J. Maloof)的儿子，他于1980年去世，此前他拥有休斯顿火箭队一个赛季。在会议的剩余时间里，他们静静地坐着。

所有人都夸夸其谈，加文暗示他“谨慎乐观地”认为，他们在周三上午的马刺队投资者会议上，他们的报价会被接受。

然而，在周二的一次令人紧张的停顿中，麦克德莫特和马洛夫兄弟看起来就像三个坐在泰坦尼克号甲板上的人。

麦克德莫特首先谈到马洛夫家族提出的9000万美元现金报价是NBA历史上最高的现金报价。

什么？

从周一到周二，马洛夫家族的报价从1.2亿美元降至9000万美元。

麦克德莫特说不是这样的。使用一些新方法，麦克德莫特实际上将马洛夫家族的报价提高到1.5亿美元，以便马刺队老板今天上午考虑。

尽管麦克德莫特称之为“我听说过的最好的（报价）”，但很少有人相信他们会考虑太久。

当你加上马洛夫家族如果选择将马刺队迁出圣安东尼奥的3000万美元罚款时，数字就会增加。另外3000万美元用于建造新的球馆，麦克德莫特值得称赞的是，他希望这项工程由私人完成。他确实允许私人/公共混合模式。

需要了解的是，这3000万美元的罚款将是为新的球馆预留的3000万美元，因为如果马洛夫家族没有建成球馆，他们就会搬走马刺队。

因此，马洛夫家族将以9000万美元的价格获得马刺队，仅仅比现任老板1993年3月26日从B.J.·麦克康姆斯(B.J. McCombs)手中收购球队时多付了1500万美元。

此外，这9000万美元的报价仅比新投资者彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)为球队提供的报价高出500万美元。霍尔特于6月收购了USAA 13.37%的股份，周二拒绝接听电话。

啊……这可能是所有事情的关键所在。

即使是阿甘也能看出来麦克德莫特对霍尔特的厌恶，霍尔特一直在积极争取成为新的主席。

而且，如果老板不接受马洛夫家族的报价，霍尔特可能会取代麦克德莫特。哦，别忘了迈克尔-伯克(Michael Burke)，他是Tesoro Energy的前任主席，他有可能成为马刺队主席的折中人选，任期一年。

麦克德莫特明显很恼火，霍尔特在1993年对财务上的参与不感兴趣。

霍尔特在德克萨斯州和俄亥俄州拥有卡特彼勒设备经销店，他的商业状况自那时以来发生了变化。一些财务上的调整使他获得了相当可观的现金，他希望用这笔钱来收购球队。

似乎只有盖洛德地产(Gaylord Properties)的克莱顿-贝内特(Clayton Bennett)(18.41%)支持麦克德莫特。贝内特曾经想要控制球队，现在可能只想要现金。

麦克德莫特今年75岁，由于吃了坏草莓导致的疾病，他体重减轻了21磅，看起来很憔悴。他为圣安东尼奥做出了巨大的贡献。

嘿，甚至还有以他名字命名的高速公路。

然而，这场最后的决战很可能将是他的最后一次。

即使是麦克德莫特也承认自己今天会被免去主席职务，他暗示他的妻子玛丽昂(Marion)想知道“我们什么时候去科罗拉多州”。

只是太可惜了，麦克德莫特本可以更优雅地离开。

点击查看原文：McDermott apparently enjoyed his last hurrah

McDermott apparently enjoyed his last hurrah

He talked of ancient Greece, his Air Force past and Dixieland music. Once away from his prepared script, Spurs chairman of the board - at least for now - Robert F. McDermott seemed a little lost during the discussion of an offer to buy the team by the Maloof Family of Albuquerque, N.M.

In a meeting with the Express-News Editorial Board Tuesday afternoon, McDermott began by taking what has become his all-too-customary dig at the media.

McDermott suggested there had been some misinformation regarding the deal he was shepherding to sell the Spurs to the Maloofs, who were represented at the meeting by Joe and Gavin.

The two young men, sons of George J. Maloof, who died in 1980 after owning the Houston Rockets for one season, sat quietly for the balance of the meeting.

All talked a good game, with Gavin suggesting he was “cautiously optimistic” their offer would be accepted during Wednesday morning’s meeting of Spurs investors.

Yet during one pregnant pause Tuesday, McDermott and the Maloof boys looked like three people sitting on the deck of the Titanic.

McDermott began by talking about the Maloofs’ offer of $90 million cash being the biggest cash offer in NBA history.

Pardon?

From Monday to Tuesday, the offer from the Maloofs had dropped from $120 million to $90 million.

Not so, said McDermott. Using some new math, McDermott actually got the Maloofs’ offer to $150 million for consideration by the Spurs’ owners this morning.

Few believe they will consider it for very long, despite McDermott calling it “the best (offer) I’ve heard of.”

The numbers jump when you add in the $30 million penalty should the Maloofs opt to move the Spurs out of San Antonio. Another $30 million is for the construction of a new arena, which McDermott, to his credit, wants done privately. He did allow for it being a private/public mix.

Understand, that $30 million penalty fee will be the $30 million set aside for a new arena because the Maloofs would move the Spurs if they didn’t get the arena built.

Thus, the Maloofs would get the Spurs for $90 million - just $15 million more than the current owners paid B.J. McCombs on March 26, 1993.

Besides, this offer of $90 million is only $5 million more than what newest investor Peter Holt has offered for the team. Holt, who bought USAA’s 13.37 percent in June, was not accepting telephone calls Tuesday.

Ahhhh . . . therein may be the key to all of this.

Even Forrest Gump could have figured out McDermott’s distaste for Holt, who has actively campaigned to be the new chairman.

And Holt could replace McDermott when owners fail to accept the Maloofs’ offer. Oh, don’t rule out Michael Burke, former chairman of Tesoro Energy, as a compromise candidate as Spurs chairman for one year.

McDermott was visibly annoyed that Holt wasn’t interested in participating financially in '93.

Holt, who owns Caterpillar equipment dealerships in Texas and Ohio, has had his business situation change since then. Some shifting in finances has left him quite a tidy sum of cash, which is what he’d like to use to buy the team.

It seems only Clayton Bennett of Gaylord Properties (18.41 percent) is with McDermott. Bennett, who once wanted control of the team, may only want cash now.

McDermott, 75 and looking rather gaunt following a loss of 21 pounds because of an illness resulting from eating bad

strawberries, has meant a great deal to San Antonio.

Hey, he even has a freeway named after him.

Yet, this last-ditch grandstand show likely will be his last.

Even McDermott allowed for his dismissal as chairman today, suggesting that his wife, Marion, wants to know “when we are going to Colorado.”

It’s just too bad McDermott couldn’t have left more gracefully.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10, By Dan Cook

关于NBA快速致富的简要报告

职业体育中的扑克牌价格正在上涨，似乎没有止境的开局押注或无数的加注。但似乎也无法阻止那些渴望参与的玩家队伍。

14 年前，你只需要大约 1000 万美元就能买到一个不错的 NBA 球队。一支在收视率较低的市场上表现不佳的球队，只需 100 万美元左右就能买到。

如果你能抓住一个陷入财务困境的老板，正在研究破产法，就能找到一些便宜货。

你想知道我们是如何走到今天这一步的吗？

好吧，你必须明白，作为球队的老板，你赚不到太多钱。虽然你的球队价值每个月都会略微上升，每年都会大幅上升，但你的球员薪水也会相应地上涨。

有时，涨幅并不完全一致。

代理人和球员工会老板经常谈论的关键词是“市场价值”。这个市场价值总是由少数亿万富翁老板或那些为球星相互竞价的可怜虫决定的，他们迫使其他老板挖出比他们所能承受的更多资金来签下那些可能与超级巨星竞争的球员。

这是一个恶性循环。

过了一段时间，所有老板都会召开会议，决定如何才能让他们的链条中较弱的一环保持完整。

他们同意一个薪资上限，这个数字限制了每支球队在一个赛季的球员薪资总额。对所有球队来说都是一样的。联盟律师被叫来起草一份薪资上限表格，使用他们最精妙的法律术语，其中点缀着大量的拉丁文。

然后，那些富有的老板急匆匆地回到自己的律师那里，寻找漏洞，试图打破这个规则，让薪资上限变得一团糟。因此，事情继续发生着，关键球员的市场价值随着他们退役或去世后应得的数百万美元而不断攀升。

在这个即将到来的赛季，NBA 的薪资上限接近每支球队 2500 万美元。考虑到许多俱乐部，包括马刺队，的顶级球星年薪都在 1000 万美元或以上，你不需要现代数学就能算出，球队中所有其他球员的薪资只有 1400 万美元或 1500 万美元。

但迈克尔·乔丹 (Michael Jordan) 要求公牛队再为他效力一个赛季，支付 1800 万美元，而他值这个价，只要大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson)、沙奎尔·奥尼尔 (Shaquille O’Neal) 和帕特里克·尤因 (Patrick Ewing) 对他们的球队来说价值 1000 万美元以上。

公牛队如何才能承担这样的重担，同时还能对斯科蒂·皮蓬 (Scottie Pippen)、丹尼斯·罗德曼 (Dennis Rodman) 和其他芝加哥球员保持公平？如果他们真的要遵守薪资上限，他们做不到。

关键在于，球队老板把自己带进了，或者说让别人把自己带进了，一种让许多球队无利可图，但却仍然非常有价值的境地。

拥有价值 1 亿美元或更高的东西，即使你可能从低息国债中获得更多利润，也一定很棒。但是，大多数持有少量球队股份的人并不是在寻找减税，因此亏钱的想法会让他们冷汗直冒。

如今，在 NBA 中唯一能迅速赚到钱的方法就是出售球队。

马刺队主席罗伯特·麦克德莫特 (Robert McDermott) 因为推动将球队出售给一个可能搬迁球队的团队而遭到猛烈抨击。但他可能为马刺队做了一件大事。

也许，也许只是也许，这座城市现在会建造马刺队自 1994 年以来一直在恳求建造的新球场，尽管会遇到强烈的反对。

点击查看原文：Capsule report on NBA's fast rise to riches

Capsule report on NBA’s fast rise to riches

The price of poker in pro sports is going up and there seems to be no end to the opening ante or the numerous raises. But there also seems to be no end to the long line of eager players.

Once upon a time, about 14 years ago, you could have bought yourself a nice NBA franchise for about $10 million. A losing team in a weak TV market would have sold for a million or so less.

Some bargains could be found if you caught a financially strapped owner studying the bankruptcy laws.

Care to know how we came to this situation?

Well, you have to understand there’s not a lot of money to be made during your term as owner. As the value of your franchise goes up a little every month - and a lot every year - the salaries of your players also climb accordingly.

Sometimes, not so accordingly.

The key phrase agents and player union bosses toss around like loose pennies is “market value.” That market value is always determined by a few billionaire owners or poor fools who outbid each other for star players, forcing other owners to dig deeper than they can afford to sign players who might compete with superstars.

It’s a vicious circle.

After awhile, all the owners call a meeting to determine what can be done to keep the weaker links in their chain intact.

They agree on a salary cap, a figure that limits each team to a certain amount for its entire player payroll for the season. One figure for all teams. League lawyers are called in to draw up a salary-cap form, using some of their finest legal terms, dotted with heavy dashes of Latin.

Then the richer owners rush home to their own lawyers and search for loopholes to break the code and make shambles of the salary cap. So the beat goes on and the market value for key players rises with many millions due them after they retire - or die.

This coming season the NBA salary cap is close to $25 million a team. With the top stars on many clubs, including the Spurs, making $10 million or more, you don’t need modern math to figure that only $14 million or $15 million remains for all others on the squad.

But Michael Jordan is demanding $18 million from Chicago for another season with the NBA champions and, by golly, he’s worth every dollar of it if David Robinson, Shaquille O’Neal and Patrick Ewing are worth $10 million-plus to their teams.

How can the Bulls possibly handle that load and still be close to fair with Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and the other Chicago players? They can’t, if they really stay within the salary cap.

The whole point is, team owners have led themselves - or allowed themselves to be led -into a situation that makes many franchises unprofitable, but still quite valuable.

It must be great to hold something that’s worth $100 million or more, even if you could realize more profit from a low-interest Treasury bond. But most folks who hold small chunks of franchises aren’t looking for tax writeoffs, so the thought of losing money brings cold beads of sweat.

The only serious, quick money to be made in the NBA today comes when you sell a franchise.

Spurs chairman Robert McDermott is catching heavy heat for pushing a deal to sell the team to a group that might move it. But he may have done the Spurs a big favor.

Maybe, just maybe, the city will now build that new arena the Spurs have been begging for since 1994, despite the loud objections that would come.

By Dan Cook, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-10, By Associated Press

短暂的电视纠纷延误了 NBA 自由球员的快乐

纽约 - 周二，由于对电视转播收入的分歧，NBA 宣布实施一项短暂的停工，进一步推迟了自由球员签约的开始时间。经过一上午错综复杂的法律纠缠，原本应该在周二下午 12 点 EDT 到期的交易、签约和谈判的暂停令被延长至周四下午 5 点 EDT，因为联盟和球员协会再次未能最终达成劳动协议。

最新的绊脚石是，关于 NBA 电视转播协议中 5000 万美元的利润分成。但除非出现进一步的法律纠纷，迈克尔-乔丹(Michael Jordan)，沙奎尔-奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)，雷吉-米勒(Reggie Miller)，阿朗佐-莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)以及大约 150 名其他自由球员将能够在周四考虑来自其他球队的报价。

由于最终确定集体谈判协议的复杂性，签约期已经被推迟了八天。

“我们已经等了九天了。再多等几天也没关系，”西雅图的加里-佩顿(Gary Payton)说，他是众多自由球员中的另一个。

查尔斯-巴克利(Charles Barkley)说，如果劳资纠纷没有解决，他和美国奥运篮球队其他成员将拒绝参加周三晚上在菲尼克斯与中国队的比赛。

“我不信任老板们，他们非常幸运，”这位太阳队球星说道，他预计将在停工令到期后被交易到休斯顿火箭队。“如果他们让我们停工，我们为他们打球并让他们从 TNT 那里赚钱是不公平的。这就是争论的焦点——电视转播收入。”

巴克利的奥运队友表示，他们没有就可能的罢工进行投票，但所有人都同意，停工将迫使他们考虑采取何种行动。

最新的劳资纠纷源于与联盟的两个电视转播权持有者 NBC 和 TNT 的利润分成问题。一旦这两家网络公司收回他们为转播权支付的 7.5 亿美元，产生的利润就会被分成。

联盟希望与球员工会五五分成利润，而工会希望将所有资金都留给自己。

“金钱问题通常是开放式的，可以进行妥协，并且这些电视转播收入中的满意部分将被纳入未来的工资帽增长，”工会律师杰弗里-凯斯勒(Jeffrey Kessler)说。“双方都同意没有更多悬而未决的问题。”

双方都没有透露最终协议中确切的资金分配比例。

这系列离奇的事件始于周二上午 6 点 EDT，此前纽约全夜工作会议，NBA 和工会的律师努力将集体谈判协议写入文件，以便在中午停工令到期之前签署。

然后，谈判由于利润分成问题而破裂。工会拒绝延长停工令，敢于让老板们实施停工，然后他们就看到了停工的发生。

片刻之后，一切都结束了。

“如果停工从中午开始，那么它只持续了 8 分钟，因为我们在下午 12:08 解決了这个问题，”凯斯勒说。

现在，预计该协议将在周四下午 5 点之前签署，从而引发一系列的自由球员签约和交易。

根据停工令延期条款，正常的球队运作可以继续，包括新秀和老将的夏季联赛。

去年夏天，联盟实施了停工，但三个月后，球员们投票批准了一项修改后的劳资协议，而不是解散工会。

然而，由于双方就细节问题存在争议，该协议仍然没有签署。此事最终闹上了法庭，联盟威胁说，如果分歧在 7 月 1 日之前没有解决，将实施停工。

梦之队 III 的球员们是在乘坐巴士前往菲尼克斯美国西区体育馆训练时得知了停工的消息，而当他们抵达时，停工已经结束了。

“自由球员显然对何时可以签约有一些担忧，但除此之外，我认为每个人都理解他们只是在制定细节，”马刺队的戴维-罗宾逊(David Robinson)说。

所有球员都对纠纷已经解决感到松了一口气。有些人甚至对巴克利威胁要罢工的言论感到惊讶。

“查尔斯也许应该在说出这些话之前先跟我们其他人商量一下，”罗宾逊说。“但无论我们想表达什么，我们都会一起做。”

底特律活塞队的格兰特-希尔(Grant Hill)说：“无论查尔斯说什么，我都不想和他争论。此外，我们是在他的主场——也许是他的老主场——比赛，如果他不希望我们在这里打球，我们必须听从这位老兄的话。”

职业篮球笔记

- 库科奇拇指骨折：芝加哥公牛队前锋托尼-库科奇(Toni Kukoc)是克罗地亚在亚特兰大奥运会上夺取篮球奖牌的关键人物，他于周二晚上在安大略省汉密尔顿与加拿大队的比赛中折断了左拇指。

克罗地亚队主教练佩塔尔-斯坎西(Petar Skansi)表示，库科奇在第一节比赛进行到一半时受伤，预计将参加奥运会。“也许我们可以在上面放点东西，”斯坎西说，并补充说骨折是在指关节和拇指尖之间。

库科奇也对参加亚特兰大奥运会抱有乐观态度。

“没事，我很好，”库科奇说，他上赛季场均得分 13.1 分，3.5 次助攻和 4.0 个篮板，获得了 NBA 的最佳第六人奖。

他在周二晚上的比赛中上场 9 分钟，得到 6 分。

多伦多猛龙队前锋赞-塔巴克(Zan Tabak)全场 9 投 9 中，以 23 分领跑克罗地亚队。

- 黄蜂队聘请罗斯：由于联盟的停工令阻碍了涉及全明星前锋拉里-约翰逊(Larry Johnson)的任何交易，夏洛特黄蜂队仍然设法在周二聘请了李-罗斯(Lee Rose)担任助理教练。

虽然罗斯召开了新闻发布会，但约翰逊的未来才是记者们想要谈论的话题。黄蜂队副总裁鲍勃-巴斯(Bob Bass)至少三次不得不回避同样的问题。

“我不能谈论交易，”他最后一次说道，然后回到了他的办公室。

《夏洛特观察者报》周二报道称，黄蜂队即将交易约翰逊和他剩余的 7100 万美元的 8400 万美元合同。虽然没有具体说明另一支球队或球员，但该报援引身份不明的联盟和球队官员的话说，这笔交易已经基本完成。

59 岁的罗斯和巴斯再次在同一座体育馆的屋檐下相遇。在巴斯担任球队管理层期间，罗斯曾在 1986-87 和 1987-88 赛季担任马刺队主教练鲍勃-韦斯(Bob Weiss)的助理教练。

罗斯是从密尔沃基雄鹿队来到黄蜂队的，他在那里担任球员人事副总裁已有四年。他执教北卡罗来纳-夏洛特大学三年，取得了 72 勝 18 负的战绩，并带领 49 人队在 1977 年进入四强。

在加入雄鹿队之前，罗斯曾在新泽西网队以及马刺队工作。他在大学体育界工作了 25 年，曾在普渡大学、南佛罗里达大学和特兰西瓦尼亚大学执教。他还带领锅炉匠队在 1980 年进入四强。

与此同时，巴斯确实表示，他希望黄蜂队能够在联盟对商业的停工令于周四下午 5 点到期时完成与湖人队中锋弗拉德-迪瓦茨(Vlade Divac)的交易。

在最初威胁要退役后，迪瓦茨的经纪人表示，他同意了一项交易，将把他从湖人队交易到黄蜂队，换取黄蜂队首轮选秀权——高中生科比-布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)的权利。

“我们准备好了，”巴斯周二说。“我准备完成迪瓦茨的交易，然后继续前进。”

巴斯表示，身高 7 英尺 1 英寸，体重 250 磅的迪瓦茨让黄蜂队拥有了一名能够传球、投篮和盖帽的机动型中锋。

“他 28 岁，有些中锋可以在这联盟打到 37 岁或 38 岁，”巴斯说。“这意味着他还可以打 10 年。”

这笔交易必须等到周四下午才能最终确定，届时所有谈判和交易的停工令将到期。

黄蜂队在 上周的选秀大会上用第 13 号签选中了布莱恩特，并计划将其权利交易给湖人队，换取迪瓦茨。

巴斯很难掩饰他对这笔潜在交易的热情。

“我不知道用第 13 号签还能怎样得到顶级中锋，”他说。

点击查看原文：Brief TV tussle delays NBA free-agent fun

Brief TV tussle delays NBA free-agent fun

NEW YORK - A disagreement over television revenue led the NBA to impose a shortlived lockout Tuesday, further postponing the start of free-agent signings. After a topsy-turvy morning of legal wrangling, the moratorium on trades, signings and negotiations, supposed to expire at noon EDT Tuesday, was extended to 5 p.m. EDT Thursday after the league and its players’ association failed again to finalize a labor agreement.

The latest stumbling block was the dispersal of $50 million in profit sharing from the NBA’s television deals. But barring further

legal snags, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Alonzo Mourning and about 150 other free agents will be able to consider offers from other teams Thursday.

The signing period had already been put on hold for eight days because of complications finalizing the collective-bargaining agreement.

“We’ve waited nine days. A couple more won’t hurt,” said Seattle’s Gary Payton, another in the bumper crop of free agents.

Charles Barkley said he and other members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team would have refused to play an exhibition against China in Phoenix on Wednesday night if the labor dispute wasn’t settled.

“I don’t trust the owners as far as I can throw them, and they got very fortunate,” said the Suns’ star, who is expected to be traded to the Houston Rockets after the moratorium expires.

“It wouldn’t be fair for us to play and make them money on TNT if they had us locked out. And that’s what the argument was over - TV money.”

Barkley’s Olympic teammates said no vote had been taken on a possible walkout, but all agreed that a lockout would have forced them to consider what action to take.

The latest labor snag developed over profit sharing with NBC and TNT, the league’s two TV rights holders. Once the networks recoup the $750 million they paid for broadcast rights, the resulting profits are shared.

The league wanted to split the profits with the players’ union 50-50, while the union wanted to keep all the money.

"Money issues are usually open to compromise, and a

satisfactory amount of that television money will be included (in future salary-cap increases)," union attorney Jeffrey Kessler said. “Both sides agree there are no more open issues.”

Neither side revealed the exact money split in the final agreement.

The bizarre sequence of events began at 6 a.m. EDT Tuesday after an all-night work session in New York as lawyers for the NBA and the union worked to put the collective-bargaining agreement on paper so it could be signed before the moratorium expired at noon.

Then negotiations broke down over the profit-sharing issue. The union refused to extend the moratorium, dared the owners to impose a lockout and then saw it happen.

Moments later, it was over.

“If the lockout began at noon, it lasted eight minutes because we settled the issue at 12:08 p.m.,” Kessler said.

Now, the deal is expected to be signed by 5 p.m. Thursday, triggering a flurry of free-agent signings and trades.

Under terms of the moratorium extension, normal team operations can continue, including summer leagues for rookies and veterans.

Last summer, a lockout was imposed but it ended three months later when the players voted to ratify a modified labor deal rather than decertify the union.

The agreement remained unsigned, however, as the two sides argued over details. The matter ended up in court and the league threatened a lockout for July 1 if the differences weren’t resolved.

Dream Team III learned of the lockout when the players got on a bus to ride to practice at American West Arena in Phoenix and found out it had been lifted by the time it arrived.

“The free agents obviously have some concerns about when they can sign, but other than that, I think everyone understands that they’re just working out the details,” said the Spurs’ David Robinson.

All sounded relieved the dispute had been settled. Some even were surprised by Barkley’s statement threatening a walkout.

“Charles might want to talk to the rest of us before he says some of that stuff,” Robinson said. “But whatever statement we wanted to make, we would have done it together.”

Said Detroit’s Grant Hill: “Whatever Charles says, I’m not going to argue with him. Plus, we’re playing on his home court - maybe his old home court - and if he wouldn’t want us out there playing, we would have to listen to what the man says.”

Pro Basketball Notes

- Kukoc breaks thumb: Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc, a key to Croatia’s basketball medal hopes in the Atlanta Olympics, broke his left thumb in an exhibition game against Canada on Tuesday night at Hamilton, Ontario.

Kukoc, injured midway through the first half of Croatia’s 82-72 victory, is expected to play in the Olympics, Croat head coach Petar Skansi said.

“Maybe we can put something on it,” said Skansi, adding the break was between the knuckle and the tip of the thumb.

Kukoc also was optimistic about playing in Atlanta.

“It’s OK, I’m fine,” said Kukoc, the NBA’s sixth man award winner last season after averaging 13.1 points, 3.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds.

He scored six points in nine minutes of Tuesday night’s game.

Toronto Raptors forward Zan Tabak was 9-for-9 from the field and led Croatia with 23 points.

- Hornets hire Rose: With a league moratorium holding up any trades involving All-Star forward Larry Johnson, the Charlotte Hornets still managed to make a move Tuesday with the hiring of a Lee Rose as an assistant.

While Rose was the subject of a news conference, Johnson’s future was the matter reporters wanted to talk about. At least three times, Hornets vice president Bob Bass had to fend off the same question.

“I can’t talk about trades,” he said a final time before heading back to his office.

The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday the Hornets are close to trading Johnson and the remaining $71 million of his $84 million

contract. While not specifying the other team or players, the newspaper quoted unidentified league and team officials as saying a deal was all but completed.

Rose, 59, and Bass are under the same arena roof again. Rose was assistant to Coach Bob Weiss on the 1986-87 and '87-88 Spurs teams while Bass was in the front office.

Rose comes to the Hornets from the Milwaukee Bucks, where he spent the last four seasons as vice president of player personnel. He coached North Carolina-Charlotte to a 72-18 record in three seasons, leading the 49ers to the Final Four in 1977.

Before going to the Bucks, Rose worked for the New Jersey Nets as well as the Spurs. He spent 25 years in collegiate athletics, with coaching stints at Purdue, South Florida and Transylvania. He also led the Boilermakers to a Final Four appearance in 1980.

Meanwhile, Bass did say he hoped the Hornets would be able to complete a trade for Lakers center Vlade Divac when the league’s moratorium on business is lifted at 5 p.m. Thursday.

After initially threatening to retire, Divac’s agent said he agreed to a deal that would send him from the Lakers to the Hornets for the rights to high school player Kobe Bryant, Charlotte’s first-round draft pick.

“We’re ready to go,” Bass said Tuesday. “I’m ready to get the Divac trade completed and get on with that.”

At 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds, Divac gives the Hornets a mobile center who can pass, shoot and block shots, Bass said.

“He’s 28 years old and some centers can play in this league until they’re 37 or 38 years old,” Bass said. “That means he could play another 10 years.”

The trade cannot be finalized until Thursday afternoon, when a moratorium on all negotiations and trades expires.

The Hornets used the 13th pick in last week’s draft to select Bryant with the intentions to trade his rights to the Lakers for Divac.

Bass found it difficult to mask his enthusiasm over the pending deal.

“I don’t know how else you could get a top center with the 13th pick,” he said.

By Associated Press, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Charlotte-Anne Lucas Express-News Staff Writer

球队老板拒绝交易，麦克德莫特辞职 - 霍尔特接掌马刺，欲增持股份

在周三超过5个半小时的戏剧性谈判中，圣安东尼奥马刺队拒绝了1.2亿美元的收购报价，接受了球队领袖罗伯特-麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)的辞职，并选举了15天前刚加入球队的彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)为新任董事长。被拒绝的收购者，年轻的百万富翁乔和加文-马洛夫(Joe and Gavin Maloof)，在泪眼婆娑地祝愿马刺队夺得NBA总冠军后，被送上了一辆等候的汽车，离开了阿拉莫穹顶球馆。

几分钟后，麦克德莫特，这位在1993年集结了22位投资者收购并留住球队在圣安东尼奥的城市元老，也是本周策划了马洛夫兄弟收购失败的幕后推手，悄无声息地从球馆后门溜进了自己的豪华轿车。

到下午下班的时候，彼得-霍尔特，这位自称“新来的家伙”，已经坐在了董事长的位置上，承诺成为一位“包容性”的领导者，为这个职位带来新的活力和热情。

这一系列非凡的事件，是球队所有者之间几周的争吵和分歧的顶峰。

马刺队总裁兼首席执行官杰克-迪勒(Jack Diller)说，结果是球队有了新的方向和新的和谐。

“这是我们所有者群体之间空前一致的一次会议，”他在周三下午的新闻发布会上说。

几乎所有球队的大大小小的投资者都聚集在一起，听取了收购提案，然后在超过三个小时的会议中将其拒绝。

在那之后，球队的管理委员会，一个由9人组成的团体，在球队执行办公室举行了一场简单的火鸡三明治午餐，然后他们接受了麦克德莫特的辞职，并选举霍尔特为他的继任者。

当他们离开会议时，马刺队的投资者赞扬了马洛夫兄弟和麦克德莫特，他们还为麦克德莫特送上了起立鼓掌。

“马洛夫兄弟，他们都是好人，”H.B.扎克里公司董事长巴特尔-扎克里(Bartell Zachry)说，该公司拥有马刺队9.99%的股份。

“最重要的是，我们探索了几种不同的方式来实现相同的目标，”他说。“这是一个选择。”

马洛夫兄弟及其家族成员，曾提议以9000万美元的价格收购球队，并承诺在马刺队在新球馆比赛一年后，向投资者额外支付3000万美元。

他们的收购提案，由麦克德莫特支持，要求球队现有的投资者将交易中获得的利润中的最高4300万美元，投入到一个新的8600万美元的球馆中。

如果球馆没有建成，球队搬迁了，他们承诺向所有者支付3000万美元的违约金。

周二晚上，马洛夫兄弟修改了他们的报价，承诺以9000万美元收购球队，并投入3000万美元用于建造球馆。

收购要约对霍尔特提出了挑战，他上个月购买了球队13.37%的股份，并表示希望增加自己的持股比例。

几位少数股东表示，他们将在合适的条件下，将自己的股份出售给合适的买家。

与马刺队此前发布的报告相反，球队所有者周三被告知，球队在上个赛季的运营中基本收支平衡。然而，官员们预计球队将在明年出现亏损，因为阿拉莫穹顶球馆的收入，无法跟上不断上涨的球员薪资。

球队所有者表示，他们不愿意长期补贴球队的亏损。

尽管存在这些担忧，马刺队所有者还是以“压倒性”的2比1的优势，拒绝了马洛夫的收购提案。

霍尔特说，所有者有各种各样的理由拒绝收购要约。

就他个人而言，他说：“我买下球队不是为了在不到30天后就卖掉它。”

周三下午，当他们从闭门会议走出阿拉莫穹顶球馆时，一些球队所有者表示，他们不相信马洛夫兄弟会将球队留在圣安东尼奥。

“对我来说，风险是不可接受的，”动力概念公司(Kinetic Concepts Inc.)的首席执行官詹姆斯-莱宁格(James Leininger)说。莱宁格和他的公司总共拥有球队8.64%的股份。

马洛夫兄弟，据报道他们将父亲在一家新墨西哥州啤酒经销商、银行和卡车运输方面的财产翻了一番，承诺如果他们的收购提案被接受，他们将搬到圣安东尼奥。

“我们知道这可能是一个很大的挑战，但我们真心想把马刺队留在圣安东尼奥。真的是这样，”加文-马洛夫在新闻发布会上说，当时大约三分之二的球队所有者拒绝了收购提案。

“我想，他们可能把我们看作是局外人，”他说。

他说，要达成任何协议，“你需要一个有动力的卖家和一个有动力的买家。”

最后，他说，“只是没有足够的卖家有动力。”

SBC通信公司代表卡桑德拉-卡尔(Cassandra Carr)在离开会议时赞扬了麦克德莫特。

“麦克德莫特一直很棒，”她说。“他对这座城市来说是伟大的。”

盖洛德地产公司(Gaylord Properties)的董事会代表克莱顿-贝内特(Clayton Bennett)，该公司是球队最大的单一所有者，拥有18.41%的股份，只说了这句评论：“一切都进展顺利。”

其他所有者私下里表示，在仔细研究了马洛夫的收购要约后，他们担心马洛夫家族能否完成他们的计划。

消息人士称，一些投资者认为，目前的球队所有者有足够的资源来实施类似的计划，包括建造一个新的球馆。

马洛夫的计划要求与政府合作，在政府捐赠的土地上建造一个私人投资的球馆。

在周三的新闻发布会上，霍尔特拒绝猜测所有者将如何为球队建造一个新的球馆，他说他需要熟悉相关细节。

“我只是不认为经济状况是无法解决的，”他说。“我认为我们不必出售球队来解决它。”

麦克德莫特，此前曾表示，如果马洛夫的收购提案被接受，他将短暂担任董事长，在管理委员会拒绝收购提案后几分钟，他递交了辞职信。

麦克德莫特说，几个月前他就开始考虑辞去董事长职务，自从他找到霍尔特，邀请他加入球队领导层之后。

虽然霍尔特没有明确说明麦克德莫特的这段话，但他确实说：“如果不是麦克德莫特将军，我不会在这里。我希望能够继承他的衣钵，延续他对工作的热情。”

麦克德莫特说，他从来没有想过董事长的角色会占用他那么多时间。他说，至少一年了，几乎每天都有关于他的头条新闻。

“我告诉他（霍尔特），在（提出）这个交易之后，我不想继续担任董事长。我说了，无论这个（马洛夫）提案的投票结果如何，我都不会继续担任董事长，尽管我说，‘如果你需要我，我会一直待到交易完成的最后时刻。’”

他说，他结婚两年多的妻子马妮（Marnie），在他们结婚时就承诺，他们每月可以回到她在科罗拉多州的家。

“我连一半的时间都没有做到，”他在周三晚上在他特雷尔山(Terrell Hills)的家中接受采访时说。

麦克德莫特，由于最近的疾病，他的体重从186磅降到了161磅，他说霍尔特会做得很好，并坚持说他没有任何怨恨，就像有些人猜测的那样。

然而，他的言辞中充满了明显的无奈。他说，自从结婚后，他就没有见过住在东海岸的孩子。他还说，他需要照顾他的妻子，她吃了受污染的草莓后，出现了和他一样的症状。

工作人员作家格伦-罗杰斯(Glenn Rogers)和莱斯利-希克斯(Lesli Hicks)为本篇报道做出了贡献。

图片由斯图尔特-F-豪斯(Stewart F. House)拍摄

圣安东尼奥马刺队总裁杰克-迪勒，拥有该NBA球队1.88%的股份，在周三的新闻发布会上举起了一块写着“不卖，绝不”的牌子，宣布拒绝了新墨西哥州家族提出的收购提案。

图片由鲍勃-欧文(Bob Owen)拍摄

罗伯特-麦克德莫特在周三上午，在阿拉莫穹顶球馆的马刺队所有者会议开始前几分钟，走进了会议室。

图片由斯图尔特-F-豪斯拍摄

在周三的球队所有者投票后，彼得-霍尔特接替罗伯特-麦克德莫特，首次以马刺队董事长身份登上发言台。他由马刺队总裁杰克-迪勒（背景）介绍。

点击查看原文：Owners reject deal, McD out - Holt takes Spurs' reins, wants to boost stake

Owners reject deal, McD out - Holt takes Spurs’ reins, wants to boost stake

Over 5-1/2 dramatic hours Wednesday, the San Antonio Spurs rejected a $120 million bid for the team, accepted the resignation of their lightning-rod leader, Robert McDermott, and elected as the new chairman a man who bought into the team just 15 days ago. The rejected suitors, young millionaires Joe and Gavin Maloof, were whisked from the Alamodome in a waiting car after pausing, with tears in their eyes, to wish an NBA championship on the Spurs.

Minutes later, McDermott, the civic patriarch who collected 22 investors to buy and keep the team in San Antonio in 1993, then orchestrated the Maloofs’ failed buyout bid this week, slipped wordlessly out the stadium’s back door into his limousine.

By the close of business, Peter Holt - the self-described “new guy on the block” - was in the chairman’s seat, promising to be an “inclusive” leader who would bring new energy and passion to the post.

The extraordinary series of events capped weeks of wrangling and division among the NBA franchise’s owners.

The result was a new direction and new harmony, Spurs President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Diller said.

“This was the best meeting we’ve ever had in terms of unanimity among the ownership group,” he said during a

late-afternoon news conference.

Nearly all of the team’s investors, large and small, gathered to hear the proposal and then reject it in a meeting that lasted more than three hours.

After that, the franchise’s governing board, a nine-member group, gathered in the team’s executive offices for a late lunch of

turkey sandwiches before they accepted McDermott’s resignation and elected Holt as his successor.

As they left the meeting, Spurs investors praised both the Maloof brothers and McDermott - whom they had given a standing ovation.

“The Maloofs, they’re good people,” said H.B. Zachry Chairman Bartell Zachry, whose company owns 9.99 percent of the Spurs.

“The main thing is that what was explored was a couple of different ways of achieving the same end,” he said. “It was a choice.”

The brothers, along with other family members, had offered to buy the team for $90 million, and promised to pay investors an additional $30 million after the Spurs had played in a new arena for a year.

Their proposal, sponsored by McDermott, called for the team’s current investors to put as much as $43 million of their profits from the deal into a new, $86 million arena.

If an arena didn’t materialize and the team moved, the family promised to pay a self-imposed penalty of $30 million to owners.

Late Tuesday night, the brothers revised their offer, pledging to pay $90 million for the team and to put $30 million toward an arena.

The buyout offer posed a challenge to Holt, who bought 13.37 percent of the team last month and says he wants to increase his stake.

Several minority owners have said they would sell their stake to the right buyer under the right circumstances.

Contrary to previous reports from the Spurs, the owners were informed Wednesday that the team broke even this past season. However, officials are projecting losses next year, as revenues from the Alamodome - which was not built for basketball - fail to keep pace with escalating player salaries.

The owners say they are not willing to subsidize the team’s losses over a prolonged period.

Despite their concerns, the Spurs owners rejected the Maloof deal by an “overwhelming” 2-to-1 margin, investors said.

Holt said owners had various reasons for rejecting the offer.

For his part, he said: “I did not buy into the team to sell it less than 30 days later.”

As they exited the Alamodome from their closed-door meetings Wednesday afternoon, some owners said they were not satisfied that the Maloofs would keep the team in San Antonio.

“The risk for me was not acceptable,” said James Leininger, chief executive officer of Kinetic Concepts Inc. Leininger and his company, combined, own 8.64 percent of the team.

The two Maloof brothers, who reportedly have doubled the fortune their father made with a New Mexico beer distributorship and interests in banking and trucking, had pledged to move to San Antonio if their bid was accepted.

“We knew it probably was a long shot, but our heart was in trying to keep the Spurs in San Antonio. It really was,” Gavin Maloof said in a news conference after about two-thirds of the owners rejected the deal.

“I think they maybe viewed us as outsiders,” he said.

To do any deal, he said, “you need a motivated seller and a motivated buyer.”

In the end, he said, “there were just not enough motivated sellers.”

SBC Communications Inc. representative Cassandra Carr praised McDermott as she left the meeting.

“McD has been wonderful,” she said. “He has been great for the city.”

Clayton Bennett, the board representative for Gaylord Properties, the team’s largest single owner with 18.41 percent, offered only this comment: “It went well.”

Other owners said privately that, after taking a hard look at the Maloof offer, they were concerned about the family’s ability to carry off its plans.

Sources said some investors think the current owners have enough resources to implement a similar plan involving a new arena.

The Maloof plan had called for a private-public partnership with a privately financed arena on government-donated land.

In a news conference Wednesday, Holt declined to speculate about how the owners might go about getting a new arena for the team, saying he needs to familiarize himself with the details.

“I just don’t see the financial situation being unsolvable,” he said. “I just don’t think we’ve got to sell the team to solve it.”

McDermott, who had said he planned to stay on briefly as chairman if the Maloof deal was accepted, offered his resignation minutes after the governing board rejected the offer.

McDermott said he had been thinking about resigning as chairman for months - ever since he approached Holt about taking a leadership role with the team.

While Holt did not specifically elaborate about that comment by McDermott, he did say: “I wouldn’t be here except for General McDermott. I hope to carry on in his footsteps in terms of the passion he had for the job.”

McDermott said he never expected the chairman’s role to occupy so much of his time. It’s been headline after headline for at least a year, he said.

"I told him (Holt) I had no desire to continue as chairman after (presenting) this deal. I said that holds no matter what the vote on this (Maloof) proposal, although I said, `I’ll stay until the final conclusion of the signing of the deal if you want me to.’ "

He said he promised his wife of two years, Marnie, when they married that they could return monthly to her Colorado home.

“I haven’t done half of that,” he said Wednesday night in an interview at his Terrell Hills home.

McDermott, who has dropped from 186 pounds to 161 due to recent illness, said Holt would do a “fine” job and insisted he felt no bitterness or resentment as some had speculated.

He made his remarks, however, with apparent resignation. He said he hasn’t seen his children who live on the East Coast since his marriage. He also said he needs to tend to his wife, who has had the same symptoms he suffers since eating tainted strawberries several weeks ago.

Staff Writers Glenn Rogers and Lesli Hicks contributed to this report.

PHOTO BY STEWART F. HOUSE

San Antonio Spurs President Jack Diller - owner of 1.88 percent of the NBA franchise - holds up a sign that reads `No Sale No Way’ during a Wednesday news conference announcing that the proposed sale to a New Mexico family was rejected.

PHOTO BY BOB OWEN

Robert McDermott heads into the Spurs owners meeting minutes before resigning his leadership of the group Wednesday morning at the Alamodome.

PHOTO BY STEWART F. HOUSE

Peter Holt takes the speakers podium for the first time as chairman of the NBA franchise after replacing Robert McDermott following an owners’ vote Wednesday. He was introduced by Spurs President Jack Diller (in the background).

By Charlotte-Anne Lucas Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Kevin O’Keeffe

霍尔特让麦克德莫特和马洛夫家族黯然退场

尽管罗伯特-麦克德莫特(Robert F. McDermott)在周二反复保证自己不会“拔剑自刎”，但在周三上午的马刺队老板会议上，他还是被“刺”了。在会议上，麦克德莫特向老板们推销了来自新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的马洛夫家族(Maloof)提出的收购马刺队的报价。他为此已经努力了几个月，最终却以“切腹”的方式结束了这场行动。

麦克德莫特告诉老板们，如果他们不接受马洛夫家族的报价，他将辞去董事长职务，并退出马刺队的董事会。

答案是迅速且“压倒性”的，一位马刺队发言人如是说。

据一位参加会议的老板透露，大约三分之二的老板投票拒绝了马洛夫家族提出的9000万美元现金，外加3000万美元用于建设球馆的报价，这是马洛夫家族在最后一刻修改的方案。

看起来，这个报价一直在变化，从9000万美元，到1.2亿美元，再到1.5亿美元，具体数字取决于讨论的时间。

当然，麦克德莫特被免去董事长职务并不令人意外。

而新的马刺队老板彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)现在也担任董事长，这同样不足为奇。霍尔特于6月12日收购了美国联合保险公司(USAA)持有的13.37%的股份。

“我为这份工作(董事长)努力争取，”霍尔特站在马刺队办公室的讲台上，身后是整齐地贴着马刺队标志，他如是说道。

会议持续了四个小时，所以已经很晚了。

马洛夫家族和其他人在阿拉莫穹顶的走廊里来回踱步，焦急地等待着早已注定的结果——报价被拒绝。

霍尔特表示，他投票反对马洛夫家族的报价，因为这不是一个好的报价。他再次重申，他希望拥有更多球队股份，尽管目前没有任何进展。

“我对这支球队感到兴奋，”霍尔特说，“马刺队是一支让大多数城市梦寐以求的球队。”

正是这种可能性——马刺队可能迁往其他地方——让马洛夫家族的报价失败。马洛夫家族由已故乔治-J-马洛夫(George J. Maloof)的儿子加文(Gavin)和乔(Joe)代表，乔治-J-马洛夫在1979年拥有休斯顿火箭队。

“从本质上讲，他们(马洛夫家族)需要花费6000万美元才能将马刺队迁出圣安东尼奥，”马刺队老板之一，詹姆斯-R-莱宁格博士(Dr. James R. Leininger)说。

“你只需要看看体育界正在发生的事情，就会明白，6000万美元无法阻止纳什维尔或圣路易斯获得这支球队。这种风险是不可接受的。记住，我们22个人在1993年3月从雷德-麦克康姆斯(Red McCombs)手中收购了这支球队，目的就是为了让它留在这里。”

投票结果也表明，这群老板们没有兴趣出售这支球队。

“至少现在没有，”马洛夫家族成员之一，内德-马丁(Ned Martin)说道。

加文-马洛夫是三位一体大学(Trinity University)的毕业生，在他父亲去世后负责管理火箭队。他声称自己并不觉得在这个过程中被利用。

“这是生意，”他说，“与22位老板打交道很困难。要想让22个人在时间上达成一致都很难，更别说在出售体育特许经营权上达成一致了。”

除了麦克德莫特的“最后一搏”，我几乎要认为马洛夫家族的报价是一个陷阱。

为什么？

提示：N-E-W A-R-E-N-A(新球馆)。

这是当天结束时每个人嘴边的话。

“阿拉莫穹顶是一个很棒的场馆，”加文-马洛夫说，“但它不适合这项运动。”

嘘……别惊讶，如果在接下来的几个月里，在这方面发生一些事情，尤其是现在马刺队董事长和市政官员之间的沟通将得到改善。

霍尔特带来了组织所需的活力。他说，他将在担任马刺队发言人的角色中“非常包容”。

因此，麦克德莫特不会再为了自己的目的而在媒体上发表爆炸性言论。

而且，马刺队官员不再需要逃避董事长的评论，这已经成为他们的标准程序。

点击查看原文：Holt makes McD, Maloofs disappear

Holt makes McD, Maloofs disappear

Despite repeated promises Tuesday that he would not “fall on my sword,” Robert F. McDermott was lanced Wednesday morning during a meeting of the Spurs’ owners. Pitching an offer from the Maloof family of Albuquerque, N.M. to buy the Spurs, something McDermott had been working on for months, he committed hara-kiri with that sword.

McDermott told the owners that if they didn’t accept the Maloof’s offer, he would resign as chairman and from the Spurs’ board of directors.

The answer was swift and, in the words of a Spurs’ spokesman, “overwhelming.”

Approximately two-thirds of the owners, according to one who was in the meeting, bid farewell to McDermott by rejecting the Maloof offer of $90 million cash with another $30 million to the city for an arena - an 11th-hour change in the proposal by the Maloofs.

Seems it was an ever-changing offer, going from $90 million, to $120 million to $150 million, depending on the time of the discussion.

Of course, McDermott being removed as chairman of the board hardly was a surprise.

And that newest Spurs owner Peter Holt is now chairman of the board also is far from surprising. Holt purchased USAA’s 13.37 percent share June 12.

“I lobbied for this job (as chairman),” said Holt, standing behind the Spurs logo neatly affixed to the podium in the team’s offices late Wednesday afternoon.

It was late, because the session with the ownership group lasted four hours.

There was much walking in the halls of the Alamodome by the Maloofs and others during the tedious wait for what was a foregone conclusion - rejection of the offer.

Holt said he voted against the Maloofs because it wasn’t a good offer. He again repeated that he would like to own more of the team, although nothing is pending.

“I’m just excited about this team,” Holt said. “The Spurs are a team most cities would kill for.”

It was just that prospect - the Spurs going elsewhere - that doomed the offer from the Maloofs, who were represented by Gavin and Joe, sons of the late George J. Maloof, owner of the Houston Rockets in 1979.

“In essence, it would cost them (the Maloofs) $60 million to move the Spurs out of San Antonio,” said Dr. James R. Leininger, one of the Spurs owners.

“You just have to look at what’s happening in sports to know that $60 million isn’t going to keep a Nashville or a St. Louis from getting the team. The risk was not acceptable. Remember, the 22 of us who bought the team from Red (McCombs in March 1993) did so to keep it here.”

It also was apparent by the vote that the group had no interest in selling the team.

“At least not today,” said Ned Martin, one member of the Maloof group.

Gavin Maloof, a Trinity University graduate who ran the Rockets after his dad’s death, claimed he didn’t feel used in the process.

“It’s business,” he said. “Dealing with 22 owners was difficult. It’s hard to get 22 people to agree what time it is, let alone agree on selling a sports franchise.”

Except that this was McDermott’s Last Stand, I’d almost suggest the Maloof offer was a set-up.

Why?

Hint: N-E-W A-R-E-N-A.

Those were the words on most everyone’s lips at day’s end.

“The Alamodome is a great venue,” said Gavin Maloof, “but for the wrong sport.”

Psst . . . don’t be surprised if something happens along that line in the next few months, especially now that communications between the Spurs’ chairman and city officials will be improved.

Holt brings a vibrance the organization needs. He said he’ll be “very inclusive” in his role as Spurs’ spokesman.

So no more bombs dropped by McDermott in the media when it served his purpose.

And no more running from the chairman’s comments, which had become standard procedure by Spurs’ officials.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Joel Williams and Tom Bower Express-News Staff Writers

圣安东尼奥官员将拒绝收购报价视为球队留队的信号

圣安东尼奥官员在周三获悉马刺队当地老板拒绝了来自新墨西哥州家族的1.2亿美元收购报价后松了一口气。他们还对退役准将罗伯特·麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)表达了赞赏，麦克德莫特支持将该市唯一的职业体育特许经营权出售给来自新墨西哥州的马卢夫兄弟(Maloof brothers)这一不受欢迎的提议。

周三，马刺队故事中的过山车式发展被视为圣安东尼奥本土努力留住球队的胜利。到当天结束时，麦克德莫特已从董事会辞职，并被当地商人彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)取代为董事长。

“我很高兴看到卖给来自阿尔伯克基的老板的交易没有完成，”市长比尔·索恩顿(Bill Thornton)说。“我对彼得·霍尔特以及那些几年前站出来以留住球队在圣安东尼奥为唯一目的的商界人士充满信心。”

这群由22位投资者组成的团队是在1993年由麦克德莫特组织起来的。

霍尔特上个月购买了球队13.37%的股份，表示他的意图是让球队留在圣安东尼奥。

“我们开始为公民忠诚支付巨额资金，但我感到高兴，因为彼得·霍尔特是圣安东尼奥的强势人物，”市议员罗伯特·马布特(Robert Marbut Jr.)说。“他的首要动力是尽一切努力让球队留在圣安东尼奥。如果我们做了马卢夫交易，我们就是在签署搬迁文件。”

市议员鲁斯·琼斯·麦克林登(Ruth Jones McClendon)表示同意。

“拒绝收购是向圣安东尼奥市民表明他们认真考虑让球队留在该市的第一步，”麦克林登说。

她的选区包括马刺队比赛的阿拉莫圆顶球场，以及县拥有的弗里曼体育馆，该体育馆被视为新球场的一个可能地点。

她说，现在社区面临的挑战是找到一种方法，让圣安东尼奥为马刺队带来盈利。

“该县表示他们希望与马刺队合作，而该市也表示他们希望与马刺队合作，”麦克林登说。“我们可以做到。我们绝对可以做到。”

贝克萨尔县法官辛迪·克里尔(Cyndi Krier)表示，不卖的决定让她欣喜若狂，她认为霍尔特是领导所有者团队的合适人选。

“我们全城听到的那一声巨响不是篮球穿过篮筐的声音，而是所有希望马刺队留在圣安东尼奥的人的集体松了一口气，”克里尔打趣地说。

“这个故事和这个球队不仅仅是关于篮球，”克里尔说，她在高中和大学都打过篮球。

关于麦克德莫特突然退出所有者董事会，克里尔说：“在我的心中，麦克德莫特永远是英雄，因为他帮助马刺队留在这里，以及他为教育、商业和领导力社区所做的无数其他事情，以及他以如此优雅的方式退让。”

霍尔特担任董事长的赞誉在最高官员中似乎是普遍的。

“我对彼得·霍尔特抱有极大的希望和尊重。他显然对这个社区的投入与他对圣安东尼奥马刺队的投入一样多。我认为他是所有者需要的平衡，以制定关于他们想要从这里走向何方的信息，”克里尔说。

“我认为他是一个有时间、精力和想法为这个球队和这个社区带来改变的人。显然，这就是他想要做的，他将抽出时间，”克里尔说。

市议员罗杰·弗洛雷斯(Roger Flores)赞同县法官对霍尔特的赞扬。

“我认为彼得是接管球队最合适的人选，因为他的参与是为了让球队留在这里，并试图找到实现这一目标的方法，”弗洛雷斯说。

索恩顿说，社区应该关注麦克德莫特几十年来对社区的贡献，而不是过去一年，这一年对马刺队来说是动荡的一年。

市议员鲍勃·罗斯(Bob Ross)表示同意，他说麦克德莫特“应该为他所取得的一切成就得到高度赞扬。如果我们健忘，那将是一件很遗憾的事情。”

市议员霍华德·皮克(Howard Peak)也赞扬了麦克德莫特。

“他为马刺队和社区服务了很长时间，”皮克说。

点击查看原文：San Antonio officials see rejection of offer as a sign team will stay in town

San Antonio officials see rejection of offer as a sign team will stay in town

San Antonio officials breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday after learning Spurs local owners had rejected a $120 million buyout offer from a New Mexico family. They also had words of praise for retired Brig. Gen. Robert McDermott, who supported the unpopular proposal to sell the city’s only professional sports franchise to the Maloof brothers from New Mexico.

Wednesday’s developments in the rollercoaster Spurs story were seen as a victory for the hometown effort to keep the team in San Antonio. By the end of the day, McDermott had resigned from the board and had been replaced as chairman by local businessman Peter Holt.

“I’m glad to see that the deal to sell to owners from Albuquerque wasn’t done,” Mayor Bill Thornton said. “I have great confidence in Peter Holt and in those business people who stepped forward several years ago with the sole purpose of keeping the team in San Antonio.”

That group of 22 investors was organized in 1993 by McDermott.

Holt bought a 13.37 percent share of the team last month, saying his intention was to keep the team in San Antonio.

“We’re starting to play with very big dollars for civic loyalty here, but I’m happy because Peter Holt is a very strong figure for San Antonio,” Councilman Robert Marbut Jr. said. "His motivation is first and foremost to do everything he can do to keep the team here

in San Antonio. All we would be doing was signing the moving papers if we had done the Maloof deal."

Councilwoman Ruth Jones McClendon agreed.

“Rejecting the buyout is the first step in showing the citizens of San Antonio that they are serious about keeping the team in the city,” McClendon said.

Her district includes the Alamodome, where the Spurs play, as well as the county-owned Freeman Coliseum, seen as a possible site for a new arena.

Now the challenge for the community is to find a way to make San Antonio profitable for the Spurs, she said.

“The county has said they want to work with the Spurs, and the city has said they want to work with the Spurs,” McClendon said. “We can make it happen. We definitely can make it happen.”

Bexar County Judge Cyndi Krier said the decision not to sell made her ecstatic, and she believes Holt is a good choice to lead the ownership group.

“That big whoosh that we heard all over town wasn’t the swish of a basketball going through the hoop. It was a collective sigh of relief from everybody who wants the Spurs to stay in San Antonio,” Krier quipped.

“This story and this team is about a whole lot more than just basketball,” said Krier, who played basketball in high school and college.

Regarding McDermott’s abrupt departure from the ownership board, Krier said: “McD will always be a hero in my mind for helping the Spurs stay here and for the countless other things he has done for the community in education, business and leadership, and for stepping aside in such a classy way.”

Praise for Holt as chairman appeared universal among top officials.

“I have great hope and respect for Peter Holt. He is clearly as committed to this community as he is to the San Antonio Spurs. I think he is the balance the owners need to develop the message about where they want to go from here,” Krier said.

“I think he is someone with the time, energy and ideas to make a difference for this team and this community. Clearly that’s what he wants to do, and he will make the time,” Krier said.

Councilman Roger Flores echoed the county judge’s praise for Holt.

“I think Peter’s the best person to take the team over because his involvement was to keep the team here and to try to find ways of doing that,” Flores said.

Thornton said the community should view McDermott’s

contributions to the community over decades, not the past year, which has been a turbulent one for the Spurs.

Councilman Bob Ross agreed, saying McDermott “deserves a lot of credit for all that he’s accomplished. It would be a shame for us to have short memories.”

Councilman Howard Peak also praised McDermott.

" He’s served the Spurs and the community well for a long, long time," Peak said.

By Joel Williams and Tom Bower Express-News Staff Writers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer

新主席今天开始工作

今天是彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)担任马刺队董事会主席的第一天。霍尔特在周三接替了罗伯特-麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)的职位，他表示需要更多了解NBA，并会立即开始学习这个联盟。

“在接下来的60到90天里，我将深入研究球队的运营，”霍尔特周三晚上说。“我想熟悉运营的各个方面。”

霍尔特说，他今天下午将与马刺队执行副总裁格雷格-波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)会面。

“我想和格雷格谈谈他的整体理念，”霍尔特说。“我想进入他的思想，了解他的想法。

“显然，我还会问他，他计划采取哪些措施让球队更上一层楼。我会问他，他希望把哪些球员带到圣安东尼奥。但最重要的是，我想知道他关于组建球队的理念。”

霍尔特今年47岁，他在6月12日收购了USAA的股份后加入了马刺队的老板集团，使他拥有了球队13.37%的股份。从那时起，霍尔特说，他只在电话里和波波维奇谈过话，还没有见过任何球员。

“所以我要学习的东西很多，”霍尔特说。“我必须深入研究工资帽的细节、交易球员的规则，所有这些。”

霍尔特表示，他最关心的问题之一是重燃圣安东尼奥对马刺队的兴趣。

“我知道门票销售正在下降，”他说。“我们想告诉球迷们继续支持我们。我们非常乐观，我们需要球迷的支持。

“我希望我能快速轻松地回答关于兴趣的问题。我知道很多城市都希望拥有这支球队。它赢得了很多比赛。我们需要一些新的东西，这将是一个挑战。”

霍尔特说，他现在还没有准备好提出关于如何解决马刺队目前财务困境的建议。

“这种情况是可以解决的，”他说。“但如何让阿拉莫圆顶体育场运作得更好，以及如何朝着建设一个新的场地（球馆）迈进的问题太过复杂。我对这些问题还不够熟悉，也没有准备好讨论我会如何处理这些问题。”

霍尔特毕业于科珀斯克里斯蒂国王高中，就读于得克萨斯基督教大学。他曾在军队服役两年，包括在越南服役，并以中士军衔退役。他被授予银星勋章、三枚铜星勋章和一枚紫心勋章。

他是霍尔特公司的总裁兼首席执行官，该公司拥有超过500名员工。他是本杰明-霍尔特（Benjamin Holt）的曾孙，本杰明-霍尔特是第一台实用履带式拖拉机的发明者，也是卡特彼勒拖拉机公司的创始人之一。

霍尔特在圣安东尼奥长大，后来搬走了，但在1987年返回。他说，他在购买了马刺队的季票后就迷上了职业篮球。

“我从没想过我会参与拥有这支球队，”他说。“但现在，我有时间和精力，这是一个非常令人兴奋的前景。”

霍尔特说，他还没有走进过马刺队的更衣室，但他计划尽快与球队成员交谈。

“他心里有火，”一位球队老板费利克斯-施泰林(Felix Stehling)说。“他会学习规则。他是圣安东尼奥的希望。”

周三有传言说，霍尔特对马洛夫兄弟(Maloof brothers)提出的1.2亿美元收购该特许经营权的报价进行了还价。甚至还向一些媒体成员发送了这些数字的传真。

霍尔特说，那并没有发生。

“我没有出价。我不想拥有整个球队。

“我有兴趣购买球队更多股份，我计划与各个老板谈谈。但到目前为止，他们根本对我的报价没有兴趣。”

霍尔特还说，他也不太倾向于寻求控股权。

“也许一年或两年后，我会改变对这件事的想法，相信我需要更多的所有权，”他说。“但现在，这不是我的想法。”

点击查看原文：Team's new chairman starts digging in today

Team’s new chairman starts digging in today

School begins today for Peter Holt, the new Spurs board chairman. Holt, who Wednesday succeeded Robert McDermott, said he needed to learn more about the NBA and would begin studying the league immediately.

“I’m going to dive into the operations of the team for the next 60 to 90 days,” Holt said Wednesday night. “I want to get acquainted with all aspects of the operation.”

Holt said he would meet with Gregg Popovich, Spurs executive vice president, this afternoon.

“I want to talk to Gregg about his overall philosophy,” Holt said. "I want to get into his head, find out where he is coming from.

“Obviously, I also will ask him about what he plans to do to take the team to the next level. I’ll ask him which players he is looking to bring to San Antonio. But most important, I want to know what his philosophy is about building a team.”

Holt, 47, entered the Spurs’ ownership group June 12 when he purchased the shares of USAA, giving him 13.37 percent of the team. Since then, Holt said, he has only spoken to Popovich on the telephone and hasn’t met a single player.

“So I have a lot to learn,” Holt said. “I have to delve into the intricacies of the salary cap, the rules for trading players, all of that.”

Holt said a prime concern of his is rejuvenating interest in the Spurs in San Antonio.

“I know that ticket sales are lagging,” he said. "We want to tell the fans to stick with us. We’re very positive and we need the support of the fans.

“I wish I had a quick and easy answer to the question of interest. I do know that a lot of cities would love to have this team. It has won a lot of games. We need something new, and that will be a challenge.”

Holt said he is not yet prepared to offer suggestions on how to fix the Spurs’ current financial plight.

“That situation is solvable,” he said. “But the questions of how to make the Alamodome work better and how to progress toward getting a new venue (arena) are too complex. I’m just not that familiar with them or ready to discuss how I would proceed on those matters.”

Holt graduated from Corpus Christi King High School and attended Texas Christian University. He served in the Army for two years, including a tour in Vietnam, and emerged with the rank of sergeant. He was awarded the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.

He is president and chief executive officer of the Holt Cos., which employs more than 500. He is the great-grandson of Benjamin Holt, inventor of the first practical crawler-tractor and one of the founders of the Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Holt was raised in San Antonio, moved away for a while, but returned in 1987. He said he got hooked on pro basketball after buying Spurs season tickets.

“I never thought that I would be involved in owning the team,” he said. “But right now, I have the time and the energy, and this is a pretty exciting prospect.”

Holt said he hasn’t even stepped inside the Spurs’ locker room, but plans to talk with members of the team as soon as he can.

“He’s got fire in his belly,” said one of the team owners, Felix Stehling. “He’ll learn the ropes. He’s San Antonio’s hope.”

There were rumors Wednesday that Holt had countered the Maloof brothers’ $120 million offer for the franchise. A facsimile of the figures was even sent to some members of the media.

Holt said that didn’t happen.

"I did not make any offer. I am not interested in owning the whole team.

“I would be interested in purchasing more shares in the team, and I plan to speak to the individual owners. But thus far, there simply hasn’t been any interest in my offers.”

Holt also said he is not that inclined to even seek a controlling interest.

“Maybe a year or so from now I’ll change my mind on that, believe that I need more of an ownership,” he said. “But right now, that is not my thinking.”

By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Rick Casey

不要责怪马洛夫家族；感谢他们尝试

不要责怪马洛夫家族(Maloof family)尝试。相反，感谢他们促成了马刺队急需的变化。

如果这座城市已经准备好相信，某个外部救世主会介入，带领圣安东尼奥马刺队进入下一个世纪，那就是我们的问题。

更有可能的情况是：

• 外部救世主会经历可预见的艰难过程，与市政厅或县政府官员谈判，建造一座新的、最先进的球馆。

• 政治家们想要帮忙，但被其对选举野心的影响吓得麻木。政治家们比马洛夫家族更能接触到选民，而这些选民最近才被圣安东尼奥历史上最优秀的两位推销员——雷德-麦克科姆斯(Red McCombs)和亨利-西斯内罗斯(Henry Cisneros)——说服，同意建造阿拉莫穹顶，结果却被要求建造一座球馆，这将使穹顶失去其唯一的租户。值得注意的是，这两位推销员都已经离开了。

• 然后，马洛夫家族会宣布，他们非常遗憾，他们努力让这笔交易在圣安东尼奥达成。然后，他们要么自己将球队带到一个更富裕的市场，在那里他们会受到激励，被视为英雄，要么他们会将球队出售。

在支付了9000万美元，外加3000万美元的“违约金”离开圣安东尼奥后，他们将进入一个市场，其最近的基准包括支付1.25亿美元用于扩张球队，以及支付1.4亿美元用于旧金山和迈阿密的球队。

而且，他们将拥有扩张球队、金州勇士队和迈阿密热火队都不具备的资产：一支有长期合同的MVP领衔的争冠球队。在圣路易斯，一个比圣安东尼奥大两倍的市场，拥有更广泛的企业基础，一座闪闪发光的1.35亿美元的新球馆，以及一群积极寻求球队的有权势的商人，这支球队的价值是多少？

我不知道答案，但肯定比马洛夫家族支付的要多。罗伯特-麦克德莫特将军(Gen. Robert McDermott)，马刺队过去几年的主席，谈到过一项1.5亿美元的报价，将球队带到其他地方。

认为马洛夫家族，尽管可能怀着最崇高的意图，但与圣安东尼奥没有牢固的联系，会放弃将1.2亿美元变成更多数百万美元的机会，这完全不合逻辑。

这并不意味着他们是坏人。这说明他们是好商人。

昨天在阿拉莫穹顶听取他们报价的商人理解这一点。他们通过做应该做的事情来回应。他们拒绝了马洛夫家族的报价，并将球队置于新的领导之下。

彼得-霍尔特(Peter Holt)主席，自今年早些时候收购了美国联合服务公司(USAA)的13%股份以来，成为最大的本地股东，面临着艰巨的挑战。

简单地说，圣安东尼奥是这个疯狂通货膨胀行业中最贫困的市场。在过去几年里，球员薪水增长了两倍，并将继续大幅上涨。

与此同时，老板们同意，阿拉莫穹顶无法提供像一座新球馆那样带来的收入。(请不要为旧球馆哭泣。它也没有其他球队在联盟中用来赚钱的豪华包厢和其他便利设施。)

在老板们的脑海中，问题不是他们是否需要一座新球馆。问题是，即使他们拥有了新球馆，马刺队能否实现盈利。

在昨天之前，有报道称球队今年亏损了，尽管季后赛表现令人失望，但这是一个高于平均水平的年份。如果他们在大卫-罗宾逊(David Robinson)时代无法做到盈亏平衡，他们在不可避免的乐透年份会有什么前景？

个人票价已经压到很高，而且不清楚圣安东尼奥是否有足够的企业来支付一座新球馆提供的那些豪华包厢的费用。

悲观不是重点。重点是，如果圣安东尼奥要留住马刺队，就需要付出非凡的、广泛的努力。即使付出这种努力，成功的几率也不大。

对马洛夫家族——以及他们的当地赞助商麦克德莫特——表示敬意，这种努力更有可能由扎根于圣安东尼奥的商界领袖来组织和持续下去。

点击查看原文：Don't blame Maloofs; thank them for trying

Don’t blame Maloofs; thank them for trying

Don’t blame the Maloof family for trying. Instead, thank them for precipitating a needed change at the Spurs.

If this city was ready to buy the notion that some outside savior is going to move in and take the San Antonio Spurs into the next century, that was our problem.

The more likely scenario:

- The outside saviors go through the predictably difficult exercise of negotiating with City Hall or county officials to build a new, state-of-the-art arena.

- The politicians want to help, but are scared numb by the implications for their electoral ambitions. The politicians are in closer touch than the Maloofs with an electorate that only recently was persuaded by the two best salesmen in San Antonio history - Red McCombs and Henry Cisneros - to build the Alamodome, only to be asked to build an arena that would cost the dome its sole tenant. Both salesmen, it would be noted, have moved on.

- The Maloofs would then announce, with unspeakable sadness, that they had tried to make the deal work in San Antonio. They would then either take it themselves to a richer market where they would be showered with incentives and hailed as heroes, or they would sell it.

Having paid $90 million plus $30 million in “penalty” for leaving San Antonio, they would enter a market whose recent benchmarks include the $125 million paid for expansion teams and $140 million for franchises in San Francisco and Miami.

And they would have an asset that neither expansion teams, Golden State nor Miami, boasted: a contending team with an MVP under a long-term contract. What would that be worth in, say, St. Louis - a market more than twice as big as San Antonio, with a much broader corporate base, a sparkling new $135 million arena and a group of high-powered businessmen actively seeking a franchise?

I don’t know the answer, but it is more than the Maloofs would have paid. Gen. Robert McDermott, Spurs chairman for the past few years, has spoken of a $150 million offer to take the team elsewhere.

It absolutely defies logic to think that the Maloofs, with what may have been the most honorable intentions but without solid ties to San Antonio, would pass up the possibility of turning $120 million into many million more.

That doesn’t make them bad men. It makes them good businessmen.

The businessmen who listened to their offer at the Alamodome yesterday understood that. They responded by doing what needed to be done. They rejected the Maloofs’ offer and put the team under new leadership.

Chairman Peter Holt, the largest local owner since he bought USAA’s 13 percent stake earlier this year, faces a tough challenge.

Simply put, San Antonio is the poorest market in a wildly inflationary industry. Player salaries have tripled in the past few years, and will continue to skyrocket.

Meanwhile, the owners agree that the Alamodome does not offer the revenues that a new arena would. (And please don’t cry about the old arena. It didn’t have the luxury boxes and other amenities that are coining cash for other teams around the league, either.)

The question, in the owners’ minds, is not whether they need a new arena. It is whether the Spurs can operate in the black even if they get one.

Until yesterday, it had been reported that the team lost money this year, a better-than-average year despite a disappointing playoff performance. If they can’t do better than break even in the David Robinson years, what are their prospects during the inevitable lottery years?

Individual ticket prices are already being pressed high, and it is not clear that there are enough corporations in San Antonio to pay for those luxury boxes that a new arena would provide.

Pessimism isn’t the point. The point is that it will take an extraordinary, broad-based effort if San Antonio is to hold onto the Spurs. Even with that effort, the odds are not good.

With all due respect to the Maloofs - and to their local sponsor McDermott - that effort is more likely to be marshalled and sustained by business leaders with roots in San Antonio.

By Rick Casey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Tim Griffin Express-News Staff Writer

马洛夫兄弟表示，外来者身份阻碍了交易

马洛夫兄弟，加文·马洛夫(Gavin Maloof)和乔·马洛夫(Joe Maloof)，周三意识到，他们在新墨西哥州作为最富有家族之一的地位在德克萨斯州并不意味着什么。对于圣安东尼奥马刺队的部分股东来说，让来自新墨西哥州的陌生人拥有球队是一个令人不安的提议。

“他们把我们看作外来者，”加文·马洛夫说，并补充说他认为一些股东担心马洛夫兄弟会将球队搬出这座城市。

马刺队的22名股东一致拒绝了马洛夫兄弟提出的1.2亿美元收购要约。现任股东三年前以8500万美元的价格从B.J. “雷德”·麦科姆斯(B.J. “Red” McCombs)手中买下了球队。

“我非常失望，”马洛夫说。“我们努力了一年，试图促成这笔交易，但我们没有成功。”

马洛夫表示，如果将球队从圣安东尼奥搬走，他的家族将向现任股东支付3000万美元。但他还表示，他致力于留在圣安东尼奥，如果交易达成，他会搬到这座城市。

“我们知道我们可能胜算不大，”马洛夫说。“我们认为我们提出了一份非常好的提案，我们真心希望能够让马刺队留在圣安东尼奥。这确实是我们的真心。”

戴尔·加西亚(Dale Garcia)，一位来自圣安东尼奥的德州音乐推广人，曾经居住在阿尔伯克基，他说马洛夫兄弟关于不搬迁球队的承诺是真诚的。

“我通过我的已故堂兄，前美国参议员乔·蒙托亚(Joe Montoya)(民主党-新墨西哥州)，认识了马洛夫家族，在新墨西哥州，他们像我们圣安东尼奥对H.E. 巴特家族(H.E. Butt family)一样，对马洛夫家族非常尊敬。

“他们是社区的坚强成员，非常认真地对待他们的生意。我衷心地钦佩他们的努力，并且我足够了解他们，相信（达成交易的）大门并没有关闭，”加西亚说。

马洛夫表示，马刺队股东数量众多使得这次竞标更加困难。

“当你试图达成交易时，你需要一个有动力的卖家和一个有动力的买家，”马洛夫说。“让这件事如此困难的原因之一是，你有22个不同的股东。很难让22个人在时间上达成一致。”

马洛夫兄弟对他们的最终报价做了几项最后一刻的调整，最终报价包括9000万美元的预付款，其中包括债务承担和现金。

马洛夫表示，一个新的球馆对于球队长期成功至关重要。

“如果公众希望球队留在圣安东尼奥，你就必须做一些事情，”他说。“问题在于在圆顶体育馆比赛。解决办法——也是唯一的解决办法——就是建造一个新的球馆。否则，有人会来买下球队。我不认为在阿拉莫体育馆(Alamodome)有长期发展前景。不幸的是，它对于这项运动来说，是错误的场馆。”

编者按：本报道由特约撰稿人汤姆·鲍尔(Tom Bower)提供。

点击查看原文：Maloof indicates outsider status hurt deal

Maloof indicates outsider status hurt deal

Having strangers from New Mexico own the San Antonio Spurs was an unsettling proposition for some members of the team’s ownership group. The Maloof brothers, Gavin and Joe, realized Wednesday that their stature as one of New Mexico’s wealthiest families didn’t mean much in Texas.

“They viewed us as outsiders,” Gavin Maloof said, adding that he thought some owners feared the Maloofs would move the team out of the city.

The 22-member Spurs ownership group overwhelmingly rejected a $120 million offer from the Maloofs. The current owners bought the team from B.J. “Red” McCombs three years ago for $85 million.

“I’m very disappointed,” Maloof said. “We worked for a year trying to make this deal work. But we couldn’t get it done.”

Maloof said his family would have paid $30 million to the current owners if it moved the team from San Antonio. But he also said he was committed to remain in San Antonio, and would have moved to Alamo City if the deal had been accepted.

“We knew that we were probably a long shot,” Maloof said. “We thought we put together a real good proposal, and our heart was in trying to keep the Spurs in San Antonio. It really was.”

Dale Garcia, a San Antonio Tejano music promoter formerly of Albuquerque, said the Maloofs’ promise to not move the team was genuine.

"I know the family through my late cousin, former U.S. Senator Joe Montoya (D-N.M.), and in New Mexico they have a high regard for the Maloof family just like we have in San Antonio for the H.E. Butt family.

“They are strong members of the community and take their business very seriously. I heartily admire their effort, and I know them well enough to believe that the doors (to a deal) are not closed,” Garcia said.

Maloof said the number of Spurs owners made this bid more difficult.

“When you are trying to make a deal, you’ve got to have a motivated seller and a motivated buyer,” Maloof said. “One of the things that made this so difficult is that you had 22 different owners. It’s hard to get 22 people to agree on the time of day.”

The Maloofs made several late changes in their final offer, which consisted of $90 million up front, including debt assumptions and cash.

A new arena is critical to the long-term success of the franchise, Maloof said.

“If the public wants the team here, you have to do some things,” he said. “The problem is playing in a dome. The solution - and the only solution - is building a new arena. Otherwise somebody is going to come along and buy the team. I don’t see a long-term future in the Alamodome. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong venue for the wrong sport.”

Staff Writer Tom Bower contributed to this report.

PHOTO BY STEWART F. HOUSE

Gavin Maloof, with brother Joe Maloof looking on, discusses his disappointment that Spurs owners rejected his family’s offer to buy the team Wednesday.

By Tim Griffin Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-11, By Tim Griffin Express-News Staff Writer

球迷们注意啦！格伦-里弗斯(Glenn Rivers)离开马刺，加入TNT担任评论员，称其为“绝佳的机会”

格伦-“多克”-里弗斯(Glenn “Doc” Rivers)将在今年秋季重返校园。当然，里弗斯这次的课堂并非传统意义上的教育机构，但他新加入的职位——特纳体育的比赛评论员——将会为他提供一个学习篮球的实验室。

里弗斯在周三宣布从NBA退役，结束了长达13年的职业生涯，其中包括最近两个赛季效力于马刺。

在权衡了几个不同的与篮球相关的机会后，里弗斯最终选择了担任评论员。这位经验丰富的后卫在与菲尼克斯助教丹尼-安吉(Danny Ainge)进行了数小时的交谈后，决定接受这份工作。安吉目前担任着里弗斯即将接替的评论员职位。

“丹尼告诉我，他在担任评论员的一年里学到的东西比他作为球员的13年还要多，”里弗斯说。“他说有机会学习不同的教练，观察不同的球队以及他们的理念。这份工作给了他一个绝佳的机会，让他能够看到联盟中的各种事情。”

安吉在常规赛结束后接受了菲尼克斯主教练科顿-菲茨西蒙斯(Cotton Fitzsimmons)的邀约，担任了他的首席助教。

34岁的里弗斯在周三晚上于菲尼克斯开始了他的新职业生涯，在梦之队119-58战胜中国队的热身赛中担任比赛评论员。他将与弗恩-隆德奎斯特(Verne Lundquist)搭档，作为特纳体育顶级解说团队的色彩评论员。

“我需要做的主要事情是提高我的网球水平，”里弗斯笑着说。“我没有太多机会和弗恩见面，因为他们从来不让我参加‘球星秀’。”

里弗斯表示，他与特纳体育的协议为期四年。

“我有几个机会，但我认为这是最好的一个，”里弗斯说。“NBC希望我在他们的演播室工作，但我一直想做一名评论员。我觉得很舒服，因为我以前和他们合作过。”

里弗斯也考虑过担任球队管理层的工作，但他认为评论员的工作是他从球员生涯过渡到新工作的最轻松方式。

“我会怀念球队之间的友谊和 camaraderie，”里弗斯说。“但评论员工作的好处在于，你也会和你一起工作的人建立起相同的感情。我过去很喜欢和他们合作，我认为这是一个很好的机会。”

在职业生涯的大部分时间里效力于亚特兰大和纽约之后，里弗斯在1994-95赛季初被尼克斯放弃后，来到圣安东尼奥。

这位身高6尺4寸的后卫是马刺两支中西部赛区冠军球队以及球队历史上两支最强球队的重要贡献者和防守悍将。

里弗斯说，没有和这些球队一起赢得NBA总冠军是他职业生涯的巨大遗憾。

“这是我职业生涯中最大的失望，”里弗斯说。“除了赢得总冠军之外，我几乎完成了自己设定的所有目标。而这一点让我感到苦涩。”

里弗斯在4月28日马刺与菲尼克斯的首轮季后赛系列赛第二场比赛中受伤。他的背部痉挛使他无法参加剩余的季后赛比赛。

“我在亚特兰大的医生告诉我，这将一直痛下去，直到我结束职业生涯，”里弗斯说。“他们还说，以我打球的方式，这个伤势会不断加重。”

伤愈后，里弗斯大约花了一个月的时间才决定退役。

“我告诉我的妻子克里斯(Kris)，我想给自己一些时间来劝说自己不要退役，”里弗斯说。“但时间越长，我越确定。我想要有机会和孩子们一起成长。”

里弗斯计划将家人搬到圣安东尼奥，并在未来几个月内购买一栋房子。

点击查看原文：What's up, Doc? Stay tuned - Rivers leaves Spurs, sees role with TNT as `great opportunity'

What’s up, Doc? Stay tuned - Rivers leaves Spurs, sees role with TNT as `great opportunity’

Glenn “Doc” Rivers will be going back to school this fall. Rivers’ classroom won’t be an educational setting in the strictest sense. But his new job as a game analyst for Turner Sports will provide him a laboratory to learn more about basketball.

Rivers announced his retirement Wednesday from the NBA after a 13-year career, including the last two seasons with the Spurs.

After weighing several different basketball-related

opportunities, Rivers opted for the broadcasting job. The veteran guard was swayed after talking for several hours with Phoenix assistant coach Danny Ainge, whose analyst position Rivers will fill.

“Danny told me he learned more in one year of broadcasting than he did in 13 years as a player,” Rivers said. "He said had a chance

to learn different coaches and see organizations and their philosophies. The job gave him a great opportunity to see things around the league."

Ainge accepted the job as Cotton Fitzsimmons’ top assistant at Phoenix after the regular season.

Rivers, 34, began his new career Wednesday night in Phoenix, working as an analyst during the Dream Team’s 119-58 exhibition victory over China. He will join Verne Lundquist as color analyst on one of Turner’s top crews.

“The main thing I’m going to have to do is polish up on my tennis,” Rivers said, laughing. “I hadn’t gotten much of a chance to meet Verne, because they never had me on the `Star of the Game’ show.”

Rivers said his deal with the network will be for four years.

“I had a couple of opportunities, but I thought this was the best one,” Rivers said. “NBC wanted me to work in their studio, but I had always wanted to work as an analyst. I feel comfortable because I’ve worked with them in the past.”

Rivers also weighed front-office opportunities, but thought that broadcasting would provide the easiest adjustment from his playing career.

“I will miss the camaraderie and friendship around the team,” Rivers said. “But the good thing about broadcasting is that you have those same feelings with the people you work with. I had enjoyed working with them in the past and I thought this would be a good opportunity.”

After playing most of his career with Atlanta and New York, Rivers arrived in San Antonio early in the 1994-95 season after he was waived by the Knicks.

The 6-foot-4 guard was a key contributor and defensive stopper on two Midwest Division-championship teams and two of the best teams in franchise history.

Rivers said failing to win an NBA championship with those groups was a painful ending for his career.

“That’s the biggest disappointment in my career,” Rivers said. “I accomplished almost everything I set out to do except win a championship. And that’s bitter.”

Rivers was injured April 28 during the second game of the Spurs’ opening-round playoff series against Phoenix. His back spasms kept him from playing in the rest of the playoffs.

“My doctors in Atlanta told me it would keep on hurting for the rest of my career,” Rivers said. “They also said that the way I played, the injury would keep getting aggravated.”

After the injury, Rivers took about a month before deciding to retire.

“I told my wife (Kris) that I wanted to give myself that amount of time to talk myself out of it,” Rivers said. “But the longer it went, the more it settled in. I wanted the chance to play with my children as they grew up.”

Rivers plans to move his family to San Antonio, where he plans to buy a house in the next several months.

By Tim Griffin Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-12, By Joel Williams Express-News Staff Writer

市长被敦促与马刺队进行一对一对话

市议会成员正在推动市长在与马刺队的合作中发挥领导作用，而这一角色牵涉到一个政治敏感问题：新球馆的建设。周四，谨慎的比尔·索恩顿(Bill Thornton)市长承诺改善与马刺队老板及其新主席彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)之间的沟通。

“我们都承诺，我们的沟通将是直接的，坦诚的，而不是通过媒体进行的，”索恩顿在周四与霍尔特会面后说道。

索恩顿和其他市政官员在圣安东尼奥快报上得知新墨西哥州的一个家族以1.2亿美元的价格收购马刺队时，感到措手不及。

马刺队董事会周三否决了该收购提议，并在罗伯特·麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)因推动收购提议而辞职后，任命霍尔特为主席。

随着马刺队领导层的变更，议会成员认为这是一个机会，可以与球队老板，特别是霍尔特，建立更好的合作关系。

过去一年中提到的问题包括：建造一座更适合篮球比赛的新球馆，以及对阿拉莫穹顶的让利和停车协议进行修改。

这些想法都引起了当地政治人物和公众的迅速而激烈的反应。

“市长将成为议会最明显的代言人，”议员琳达·比拉·伯克(Lynda Billa Burke)说，并补充说，城市不应期望马刺队作为一个私人企业提前公布其所有计划。

“我认为，所有权方应该直接与市长会面，”议员罗伯特·马布特(Robert Marbut)说。“这给了我们一个机会重新开始。”

马布特不同意索恩顿的观点，即市政工作人员应该在与老板合作，让圣安东尼奥成为马刺队打球的盈利之地方面发挥重要作用。

索恩顿表示，虽然他和霍尔特需要共同努力“打破障碍”，但市政工作人员和马刺队管理层有更多时间来讨论细节。

“我已经在电话里，以及今天亲自向彼得·霍尔特表达了我与马刺队合作的坚定承诺，”索恩顿说。“如果彼得·霍尔特想见面，我随时可以和他见面。”

议员杰夫·韦伯斯特(Jeff Webster)表示，索恩顿必须成为城市与马刺队老板沟通的中心点。

“我认为，在过去几天里，他已经清楚地认识到了这一点，”韦伯斯特说。

但他表示，马刺队也需要审查自己的财务状况，努力提高盈利能力。

“他们必须进行一些内部审查，”韦伯斯特说。

霍尔特表示，他首先希望更多地了解马刺队的运营，但他打算与市长和其他市政官员密切合作。

“我认为我们希望有更多的对话，”霍尔特说。“事情发展得很快，我认为市长理解这一点。”

对话不可避免地会引出对新球馆的讨论。

索恩顿去年坚决反对城市为新篮球场馆的建设提供任何资金，他说，在刚刚建成阿拉莫穹顶之后，公众不会支持这一做法。

他后来缓和了语气，说所有选项都在考虑之中。

议会成员仍然承认公众不愿为新球馆的建设提供资金。

“现在，我非常反对使用任何纳税人的资金来建造球馆，”议员鲍勃·罗斯(Bob Ross)说。“我反对就阿拉莫穹顶的让利进行任何谈判。”

但罗斯补充说：“我希望市长能够积极地代表议会，了解议会在这方面的立场。”

议员罗杰·弗洛雷斯(Roger Flores)也表示，议会希望市长在与马刺队的合作中发挥领导作用，而且“我认为市长做得很好”。

“这是一个难得的机会，”弗洛雷斯说。“这是一个新的开始，可以把所有事情都摆上台面。我看到的是，大多数，如果不是所有老板，都希望把球队留在圣安东尼奥。”

议员霍华德·皮克(Howard Peak)表示，双方需要迅速采取行动，“开始认真讨论如何让马刺队留在圣安东尼奥。我之所以说要快，是因为实施我们决定采取的任何措施都需要一段时间。”

虽然他认为市长应该在与马刺队的合作中发挥领导作用，但议员亨利·阿维拉(Henry Avila)说：“我认为这是一项团队合作。我认为这不是麦克德莫特的问题，也不是比尔·索恩顿的问题。”

议员胡安·索利斯(Juan Solis)表示，市长应该代表城市，但他不必担任谈判代表。

“他的作用是作为协调人，确保会谈能够进行，”索利斯说。

县长辛迪·克里尔(Cyndi Krier)表示，县与马刺队之间一直保持着良好的沟通。

“我认为城市和马刺队需要解决他们之间的任何穹顶问题，”克里尔说。“如果他们想考虑将弗里曼体育馆场地用于多功能设施，县的体育馆咨询委员会已经表示，我们愿意与城市、马刺队、圣安东尼奥牲畜展览会、曲棍球队、音乐会承办方和其他可能想使用该场地的方合作，看看这是否有助于解决问题。”

照片由约翰·戴文波特(John Davenport)拍摄

马刺队总裁杰克·迪勒(Jack Diller)（左）在周四的会议上正式向市议会介绍了球队的新主席彼得·霍尔特。霍尔特接替了周三辞职的罗伯特·麦克德莫特。

点击查看原文：Mayor urged to go 1-on-1 with Spurs

Mayor urged to go 1-on-1 with Spurs

City Council members are pushing for the mayor to take the lead in their dealings with the Spurs - a role that carries with it the politically touchy subject of a new arena. And a cautious Mayor Bill Thornton vowed Thursday to improve communications with the Spurs owners and their new chairman, Peter Holt.

“He and I both gave the commitment that our communications would be direct, they would be candid, and not through the media,” Thornton said after meeting Thursday with Holt.

Thornton and other city officials were caught off guard when they learned first in the San Antonio Express-News of a New Mexico family’s $120 million offer to buy the team.

The Spurs board Wednesday rejected the offer and installed Holt as chairman after Robert McDermott, who promoted the buyout offer, resigned from the board.

With the Spurs leadership change, council members see this as a period when the city has an opportunity to develop a better working relationship with the team’s owners, particularly Holt.

Issues that have been broached over the past year include talk of a new arena more accommodating for basketball and modifications in the concessions and parking agreements at the Alamodome.

Each of those ideas drew quick and heated responses from local politicians and the public.

“The mayor would be the obvious spokesperson for the council,” said Councilwoman Lynda Billa Burke, adding the city should not expect the team as a private business to divulge all of its plans in advance.

“I think the ownership group should be meeting directly with the mayor,” Councilman Robert Marbut said. “This gives us an opportunity to clean the slate.”

Marbut disagreed with Thornton’s view that city staff should keep a prominent role in working with the owners on making San Antonio a profitable place for the Spurs to play.

Thornton said that while he and Holt needed to work together to “break through barriers,” the city staff and Spurs management have more time to devote to hashing out details.

“I have over the telephone, and today in person, given Peter Holt my sustained commitment to working with the Spurs,” Thornton said. “If Peter Holt wants to meet, I will meet with him any time.”

Councilman Jeff Webster said Thornton has to be the focal point for the city’s communications with the Spurs owners.

“I think it’s become very clear to him in the past several days,” Webster said.

But he said the Spurs also need to review their own books in an effort to become more profitable.

“They’ve got to do some internal review,” Webster said.

Holt said he first wants to learn more about the Spurs’ operations, but intends to work closely with the mayor and other city officials.

“I think we’d like to have more dialogue,” Holt said. “Things moved awfully fast, and I think the mayor understands that.”

Dialogue inevitably will lead to discussions of a new arena.

Thornton last year vehemently opposed any city contribution to paying for a new basketball venue, saying the public would not support it right after completing the Alamodome.

He later softened his stance and said all options were on the table.

Council members still acknowledge public reluctance to help pay for a new arena.

“Right now, I would be very opposed to using any taxpayer funds to build an arena,” Councilman Bob Ross said. “I am opposed to opening any negotiations on the concessions at the Alamodome.”

But Ross added: “I would hope that the mayor would be active as a representative of the council and know how the council stands on this.”

Councilman Roger Flores also said the council looks to the mayor for leadership with the Spurs and, "I think the mayor’s done a good job.

“It’s a rare opportunity,” Flores said. “It’s a fresh start for things to be on the table. What I’m seeing is there’s an effort by the majority, if not all the owners, to keep the team in San Antonio.”

Councilman Howard Peak said the two sides need to act fast “to begin discussions in earnest on how do we keep the Spurs in San Antonio. And I say quickly because it could take a while to implement whatever it is we decide to do.”

Although he believes the mayor should take the lead with the Spurs, Councilman Henry Avila said: “I think this is a team effort. I don’t think it’s a McDermott issue. It’s not a Bill Thornton issue.”

Councilman Juan Solis said the mayor should represent the city but doesn’t have to be the negotiator.

“His role is as a facilitator to make sure that talks take place,” Solis said.

County Judge Cyndi Krier said the county had had good communications with the Spurs.

“I think the city and the Spurs need to resolve any dome issues among the two of them,” Krier said. “If they want to pursue consideration of Freeman Coliseum grounds for a multipurpose facility, the county’s Coliseum Advisory Board has indicated that we’re willing to work with the city and the Spurs and the San Antonio livestock show and the hockey teams and concert promoters and others who might want to use it to see if that might help.”

PHOTO BY JOHN DAVENPORT

Spurs President Jack Diller (left) formally introduces Peter Holt, the franchise’s new chairman, to the City Council at Thursday’s meeting. Holt replaced Robert McDermott, who resigned Wednesday.

By Joel Williams Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-12

马刺将留守，但未来之路何在？

当马刺今年再次跌跌撞撞地无缘季后赛时，大多数本地篮球迷对他们心爱的英雄们是否会在下一年继续留在圣安东尼奥，还是转战他城，早已漠不关心。但当尘埃落定之时，没有人希望马刺离开。这对这座城市形象的损害将是巨大的，这对那些渴望圣安东尼奥成为体育名城的民众来说，更是一场灾难，对许多敬仰大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)及其团队的成年人和孩子来说，更是难以承受的痛苦。

因此，当地的所有者团队拒绝了主席兼球队1.69%股份持有者罗伯特·麦克德莫特(Robert McDermott)将球队出售给新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的马洛夫家族的竞标，这引发了我们大多数人的集体松了一口气。

麦克德莫特试图强行达成协议，越过了自己的权限，尽管马洛夫家族在没有其他选择的情况下，似乎已承诺留在圣安东尼奥并在这里打造一支冠军球队。

然而，还有一个选择。现任所有者拒绝了麦克德莫特-马洛夫的报价，接受了麦克德莫特的辞职，并任命彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)为新主席，他在6月份购买了球队13.37%的股份。

这对马刺和圣安东尼奥来说都是一个积极的举动。霍尔特致力于这座城市的发展，并在周四与副总裁格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)会面，讨论他带领球队夺冠的计划。

马刺应该利用保留本地所有权带来的“反弹”，去吸引那些在季后赛后流失的球迷。门票销量下降，新球馆的问题也尚未解决。

无论球队是提议私人出资建造球馆，还是采用公私合作的方式，球馆问题都应该得到讨论和解决。

无论发生什么，球队目前将在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆比赛。虽然这里并非理想的篮球场馆，但目前还没有其他合适的地方。

为了吸引那些老球迷回归，球队可以考虑采取一项营销策略：将球馆上层座位票的价格降低。在季后赛期间，当球队推出5美元的门票时，球馆迎来了规模最大、气氛最好的球迷。大多数圣安东尼奥人无力负担40美元或更高的票价。

最后，麦克德莫特将权杖交给了霍尔特，标志着一个时代的结束，一个麦克德莫特主宰一切的时代。但这同时也是一个新时代的开始，我们认为，这个时代充满了希望。

点击查看原文：Spurs will stay put, but what is next?

Spurs will stay put, but what is next?

When the Spurs stumbled out of the playoffs again this year, most local basketball fans could have cared less whether their fallen heroes played here next year or in another city. But when it really came down to it, no one wanted the Spurs to leave. It would be bad for the city’s image, really bad for people who aspire for San Antonio to be a big-time sports city and awful for many adults and kids who admire David Robinson & Co.

So it is with a collective sigh of relief from most of us that the local ownership group rejected a bid by chairman and 1.69 percent team shareholder Robert McDermott to sell the team to the Maloof family of Albuquerque, N.M.

McDermott overextended his authority in trying to cut the deal, although the Maloofs - given no other alternative - appeared to be committed to San Antonio and to building a championship team here.

However, there was an alternative. Present owners rejected the McDermott-Maloof offer, accepted McD’s resignation as chairman and replaced him with Peter Holt, who in June bought a 13.37 percent share of the team.

This is a positive move - for the Spurs and for San Antonio. Holt is committed to the city, and met Thursday with Vice President Gregg Popovich to assess his plans to take the team to a title.

The Spurs should use the “bounce” they get from retaining local ownership to court fans who have wandered since the playoffs. Ticket sales are down and the question of a new arena remains unresolved.

Whether the team proposes a privately funded arena or some combination of private and public funding, the arena issue should be debated and resolved.

Whatever transpires, the team will play in the Alamodome for now. While it is a poor basketball venue, there is no other suitable site.

One marketing tool that would return old-time fans to the games would be to sell low-price tickets to the upper-level seats. When $5 tickets were made available during the playoffs, the Spurs had their biggest and best crowd. Most San Antonians cannot afford $40-and-higher seats.

Finally, passing the mantle from McDermott to Holt marks the end of an era here, one in which McD was The Man. But it also marks the beginning of a new era, one, as we see it, full of promise.

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-12, By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer

霍尔特会见马刺高管 - 波波维奇预计变化不大

马刺执行副总裁格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)和新任董事会主席彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)于周四下午举行了首次面对面会谈。这次会谈时间很短，大约15分钟，是霍尔特了解球队运营各个方面过程中的一站。

“杰克(迪勒，球队总裁)，里克(派奇，财务副总裁)和我只是简短地和他谈了谈，开始让他了解情况，”波波维奇说。“基本上，我们只是欢迎他加入这个大家庭。随着时间的推移，我们会更频繁地见面，时间更长，并向他解释我们如何构建这个项目，以及我们现在和未来对球队的理念。”

“我相信他会有自己的想法。”

霍尔特同意，他需要追赶一下。

“实际的篮球领域是我所不了解的，”他说。“今天，我只是想对它有个大概的了解，我们一起看了组织结构图。我知道他（波波维奇）今天会很忙。”

在NBA交易和自由球员签约禁令于下午4点结束之后，波波维奇开始给联盟各队打电话。

波波维奇表示，他不预计球队篮球运营方面会发生重大变化。

“我认为所有权方对篮球运营的理念非常明确，”他说。“过去两年，我们一直保持一致。”

波波维奇加入球队主要是在罗伯特·麦克德莫特将军的邀请下，直到周三，麦克德莫特一直担任马刺董事会主席。在球队老板投票否决了来自新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基的马卢夫家族的收购报价后，麦克德莫特辞职。麦克德莫特表示，无论是否接受收购报价，他都打算辞职。

“考虑到我们取得的成功，我不认为会有什么变化，”波波维奇说。“彼得很有活力，我相信他会非常投入马刺，这只会带来积极的影响。”

据报道，球队一直在勉力避免严重的经济损失。霍尔特表示，球队上赛季“几乎收支平衡”，弥补亏损的钱来自季后赛的收入。

“我们的目标将保持不变，在球场内外展示一支优秀的球队，并以最有效、最具成本效益的方式做到这一点，”波波维奇说。“我们希望继续在最高水平的比赛中保持竞争力。”

“我们另一个主要目标是为球队建造一座新的球馆。”

波波维奇表示，马卢夫家族的收购报价产生了强大的积极影响，因为它激励了老板们想要自己保留球队，并突出了建造一座新球馆的必要性。

波波维奇还表示，他认为麦克德莫特在收购报价之前的几天里在媒体上的形象很糟糕。

“任何住在这个城市却不知道他（麦克德莫特）做了什么的人都是白痴，”波波维奇说。“但过去几天，一些读者可能认为他是芝加哥的黑帮，或者类似的人。”

“如果不是麦克德莫特，这支球队可能就不复存在了。老板们实际上是在周三感谢他（麦克德莫特）带来了这个收购报价，因为它激发了他们的斗志，让他们走上了正轨。”

照片由斯图尔特·F·豪斯拍摄

彼得·霍尔特，马刺新任董事会主席，周四在阿拉莫穹顶与几名球队高管会面。

照片由斯图尔特·F·豪斯拍摄

马刺的现状是此次会谈的主题，从左至右：球队总裁杰克·迪勒，执行副总裁格雷格·波波维奇，董事会主席彼得·霍尔特，周四会面。

点击查看原文：Holt meets with Spurs executives - Popovich sees few changes

Holt meets with Spurs executives - Popovich sees few changes

Spurs executive vice president Gregg Popovich and new chairman of the board Peter Holt had their first face-to-face meeting Thursday afternoon. The get-together was brief - about 15 minutes, one stop along the way during Holt’s introduction into the various and sundry arms of the franchise’s operations.

“Jack (Diller, team president), Rick (Pych, financial vice president) and I just talked with him briefly, starting to get him up to speed,” Popovich said. "Basically, we just welcomed him into the family. As time goes on, we’ll meet again more often, for longer periods, and explain how we put this program together and our philosophy for now and the future.

“I’m sure he’s going to have some ideas.”

Holt agreed that he has some catching up to do.

“The actual basketball area is one where I have no knowledge,” he said. “Today, I just wanted to get a little picture of it; we went over the organizational chart. I know he (Popovich) is going to have a busy day today.”

Popovich began telephoning around the league after the NBA’s moratorium on trades and free-agent signing ended at 4 p.m.

Popovich said he does not expect any great changes in the running of the basketball arm of the franchise.

“I think the ownership is very clear on what the philosophy is on the basketball operations,” he said. “We have been on the same page for the past two years.”

Popovich was brought into the organization primarily at the behest of Gen. Robert McDermott, until Wednesday the Spurs’ chairman of the board. McDermott resigned shortly after the owners voted not to accept a buyout offer from the Maloof family of Albuquerque, N.M. McDermott said that he had intended to resign whether the offer was accepted or not.

“I don’t foresee any changes being made, considering the success that we have enjoyed,” Popovich said. “Peter is very energetic; I believe he will be very involved in the Spurs and that can only be a positive.”

The team reportedly has been just skirting serious financial losses. Holt said the franchise “just about broke even” last season, the salvaging money coming from the foray into the playoffs.

“Our goals will remain the same, to exhibit a class basketball team on and off the floor and to do that in the most efficient, financially most cost-effective way,” Popovich said. "We expect to remain competitive at the very top level of competition.

“Our other major goal is to get a new arena for our program.”

Popovich said that the Maloof family’s offer exerted a powerful positive in the sense that it galvanized the owners into wanting to keep the team themselves and brought to the fore the need for a new arena.

Popovich also said the he thought McDermott received a poor portrayal in the media during the days leading up to the buyout offer.

“Anybody who has lived in this town and doesn’t know what he (McDermott) has done is an idiot,” Popovich said. "But last few days, some readers must have thought he was a Chicago gangster, or something.

“The team probably would not be here if it wasn’t for McDermott. The owners actually thanked him (Wednesday) for bringing in this offer because it galvanized them and got them on the right track.”

PHOTO BY STEWART F. HOUSE

Peter Holt, the Spurs’ new chairman of the board, met Thursday at the Alamodome with several team executives.

PHOTO BY STEWART F. HOUSE

The state of the Spurs was the topic as (from left) team president Jack Diller, executive VP Gregg Popovich and chairman of the board Peter Holt met Thursday.

By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-12, By Dan Cook

迈克德莫特的交易为何泡汤

他们还没准备好。无论是潜在的买家还是意图出售的卖方，双方都未准备好迎接周三提出的马刺队出售方案。因此，罗伯特·麦克德莫特（Robert McDermott），这个为双方进行谈判、独自策划此提议的工程师，被晾在一边，束手无策。

就在麦克德莫特准备在第二天早上进行重要演讲的前夜，马卢夫兄弟，加文（Gavin）和乔（Joe），仍然在调整数据，将他们1.2亿美元的蛋糕切成不同的部分，以使其更易于接受。

他们尚未在这片水域中试探，这片水域被22位当地特许经营权的所有者搅动。但麦克德莫特也一样，他以球队管理机构主席的身份行事，尽管他拥有不到2%的股份。

然而，正是麦克德莫特在很大程度上促成了收购瑞德·麦克康姆斯（Red McCombs）以7500万美元出售的特许经营权的所有权链。这就是为什么他觉得可以放心地独自行动，为他的商业伙伴们达成一项有利可图的交易，同时遵循现有所有者的意愿，将球队留在圣安东尼奥。

我相信，在麦克德莫特的脑海和心中，他坚信自己正在为现任所有者和圣安东尼奥做一件大事，也许是他在这个城市最后也是最伟大的贡献。

毕竟，自从杰克·迪勒（Jack Diller）就任马刺队总裁的首月开始，他就带领着一支挥舞着宝剑的队伍，解释了球队需要拥有自己的球馆，否则将面临亏损的可怕前景——被迫搬迁。

也许他是对的，一直都是这样。当然，一些球队的所有者相信这个预言。

所以，这笔交易泡汤，唯一令人遗憾的是这一点。

经过数周的私下、一对二的讨论和秘密谈判，麦克德莫特感到已准备好引入马卢夫兄弟，并以承诺将球队留在圣安东尼奥所带来的丰厚利润的激动人心报价，令他的合伙人感到兴奋。

在他生命的最后几年，他认为，他为圣安东尼奥提供了又一次优质服务。这仿佛是在说：“嘿，这老家伙还能打猎。”

但麦克德莫特高估了马卢夫兄弟慷慨的报价，低估了其同行们为了留任，并确保球队留在圣安东尼奥的决心。

以最友好的方式，并伴随着对过去成就的赞美之词，他们关上了大门，拒绝了这个报价。

掌权人立即发生了改变。

所以现在，47岁的彼得·霍尔特（Peter Holt）是董事会主席。他是球队第二大投资者，渴望成为最大投资者，但更渴望改变现状，打造一支季后赛球队。

这对一些管理层来说可能好也可能不好。首先，负责球员人事工作的格雷格·波波维奇（Gregg Popovich）在麦克德莫特周三离开后失去了他的主要权力基础。

我们经常从管理层那里听到呼声，说当大卫·罗宾逊（David Robinson）在几年后淡出或退役时，特许经营权注定要亏损。也许吧。

但反过来看，大卫离开后，管理层不是会省下数百万美元，用来完成他们的工作，签下新的人才吗？

无论如何，现在轮到霍尔特和迪勒，以及其他所有者的鼎力支持，来寻找建造新的球馆的方法，从而保证盈利。

许多非体育迷会不同意，但一直以来，这里的主张都是，圣安东尼奥比马刺队更需要马刺队。这一点仍然成立。

点击查看原文：Reasons why McDermott's deal didn't fly

Reasons why McDermott’s deal didn’t fly

They weren’t ready. Neither side was prepared for Wednesday’s proposed sale of the Spurs - not the would-be buyers or their intended sellers. So Robert McDermott, the lone engineer of that proposition who negotiated for both sides, was left to hang out and dry.

On the very eve of the big pitch that McD was to make the next morning, the Maloof brothers, Gavin and Joe, were still juggling figures, putting different slices on their $120 million pie, to make it more acceptable.

They had yet to test the waters here, stirred by 22 owners of the local franchise. But neither had McDermott, who acted in his role as chairman of the team’s governing body despite owning less than 2 percent.

But it was McDermott who did most to form the ownership chain that purchased this franchise from Red McCombs for $75 million. That’s why he felt comfortable in acting on his own to negotiate a profitable deal for his business partners while following the intent of current owners to keep the team in San Antonio.

In his mind and heart, I believe, McDermott firmly believed that he was doing a great favor for the current owners and San Antonio, perhaps his final and grandest service to this city.

After all, since the first month that he became president of the Spurs, Jack Diller has led a brigade of sword-rattlers explaining how the team had to have its own arena or face the grim prospect of losing money - and be forced to move.

Maybe he’s right - and has been all along. Certainly some of the team owners believe that prophecy.

So that presents the only sad part about this deal that didn’t fly.

After long weeks of private, one-on-two discussions and secret negotiations, McDermott felt ready to bring in the two Maloof brothers and thrill his co-owners with the exciting offer of great profits that would come with promises to keep the team here.

In his late years, he felt, he was offering still another fine service to San Antonio. It was as if to say, “Hey, this old dog can still hunt.”

But McD had overestimated the Maloofs’ generous offer and underestimated the determination of his fellow owners to remain on board while making certain the team stays here.

In the nicest way possible, complete with adjectives of raves for past performances, they slammed the door in his face and rejected the offer.

The changing of the guard was immediate.

So now, 47-year-old Peter Holt is board chairman. He’s the team’s second-largest investor, eager to become the largest, but even more eager to shape things up and produce a playoff winner.

That may or may not bode well for some front-office hands. For one thing, the man in charge of player personnel, Gregg Popovich, lost his main power base when McDermott departed Wednesday.

We’ve often heard cries from that front office how the franchise is destined to lose money when David Robinson fades or retires in a few years. Maybe so.

But, bouncing the ball back to their side of the court, wouldn’t David’s departure free many millions for front-office hands to do their jobs and sign new talent?

At any rate, it’s now up to Holt and Diller, with big assists from other owners, to find ways to build that new arena that would guarantee a profitable operation.

Many who aren’t sports fans will disagree, but it’s long been the contention here that San Antonio needs the Spurs more than the Spurs need San Antonio. That still holds.

By Dan Cook, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-12, By COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

协议为交易和报价洪流铺平道路

NBA 和球员工会终于在周四达成了劳资协议，签署了一份集体谈判协议，开启了联盟历史上最富有的自由球员市场。到晚上，价值数千万美元的报价已经摆上台面。

这份为期六年的劳资协议将持续到 2000-2001 赛季，于美国中部时间下午 4 点前几分钟在纽约的一家律师事务所签署。当时，为期 10 天的签署、交易和谈判暂停令即将到期。

几分钟后，经纪人和总经理便开始打电话，这是自 6 月 30 日以来，他们首次可以合法地谈论交易。

现在可以与任何球队谈判的球员包括迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)、沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)、雷吉·米勒(Reggie Miller)、朱万·霍华德(Juwan Howard)、丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman) 和加里·佩顿(Gary Payton)。

第一批交易并非重磅交易，但也在意料之中。洛杉矶湖人队将中锋弗拉德·迪瓦茨(Vlade Divac)交易到夏洛特黄蜂队，换来了 17 岁的 6 英尺 6 英寸后卫科比·布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)，他是 6 月选秀大会上的第 13 号签。

明尼苏达森林狼队将中锋安德鲁·朗(Andrew Lang)交易到密尔沃基雄鹿队，换回了森林狼在选秀日交易雷·阿伦(Ray Allen)到雄鹿换取斯蒂芬·马布里(Stephon Marbury)时得到的首轮选秀权。

通过交易迪瓦茨，湖人队腾出了薪资空间（未来两个赛季超过 850 万美元），以便追逐奥尼尔。他们没有浪费时间。

“我和奥兰多魔术队进行了深入的讨论，并会见了洛杉矶湖人队的杰里·韦斯特(Jerry West),”奥尼尔的经纪人莱恩·阿马托(Len Armato)说。他表示，其他球队也打过电话，但“目前还没有什么实质性进展”。

佩顿的经纪人亚伦·古德温(Aaron Goodwin)表示，他已收到来自纽约尼克斯队、迈阿密热火队、西雅图超音速队、密尔沃基雄鹿队和夏洛特黄蜂队五支球队的报价，均为一份为期七年的合同。古德温表示，他预计佩顿的签约金额不会低于 7000 万美元。

马刺队执行副总裁格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)是开赛枪响后立即给经纪人打电话的人之一。

波波维奇联系的球员代表包括吉米·塞克斯顿(Jimmy Sexton)，他是弗农·马克斯韦尔(Vernon Maxwell)和塞达尔·斯雷特(Sedale Threatt)的经纪人，以及乔治·安德鲁斯(George Andrews)，他是德里克·哈珀(Derek Harper)的经纪人。

马刺队在自由球员市场上举步维艰，因为球队的薪资已经超标，只有 100 万美元的例外条款可以用来自我吸引球员。

波波维奇拒绝谈论他对哪些球员感兴趣，以及他与哪些经纪人进行了交谈。

“现在还太早。我们已经让人们知道我们对哪些球员感兴趣，以及我们喜欢哪些球员，也了解到哪些球员对我们感兴趣，”波波维奇说。“事情应该在 7 到 10 天左右就会明朗一些。”

塞克斯顿证实波波维奇确实和他谈论了斯雷特和马克斯韦尔。

“我和格雷格谈过了，我必须说现在还太早，无法确定马刺队是否有机会签下其中一位球员，”塞克斯顿说。“他并没有说他对斯雷特更感兴趣，还是对马克斯韦尔更感兴趣。”

消息人士证实，波波维奇确实和安德鲁斯谈论了哈珀。马刺队吸引哈珀的最佳希望在于，这位前尼克斯队和小牛队的控球后卫是否愿意接受一份从 100 万美元起跳的合同，并在一支有竞争力的球队中打球。

周四自由球员狂欢开始之前，来自联盟和球员工会的律师审查了大约 300 页的文件，然后签署了这些文件，结束了一场长达一年的戏剧，其中包括两次停工、两次批准投票、两次暂停令，以及几次在最后一刻的妥协。

“这个过程很艰难，”NBA 首席法律官杰弗里·米什金(Jeffrey Mishkin)说。“但我认为我们现在已经达成了一项协议，这将为 NBA 及其球员之间建立长期关系提供一个建设性的框架。”

“我们对这笔交易非常满意，”球员工会首席谈判代表杰弗里·凯斯勒(Jeffrey Kessler)说。“这对球员来说是公平的，让球员工会变得更加强大，应该会推动工会的复兴。”

点击查看原文：Agreement paves way for deluge of trades, offers

Agreement paves way for deluge of trades, offers

The NBA and the players union finally made labor peace Thursday, signing a collective bargaining agreement that opened the richest free-agent market in league history. By nightfall, offers worth tens of millions of dollars already were on the table.

The six-year labor deal, which extends through the 2000-2001 season, was signed at a New York law office just a few minutes before 4 p.m. CDT, when a 10-day moratorium on signings, trades and negotiations was to expire.

Minutes later, agents and general managers were on the phones, talking business legally for the first time since June 30.

Among the players who can now negotiate with any club they choose are Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Reggie Miller, Juwan Howard, Dennis Rodman and Gary Payton.

The first moves weren’t blockbusters, but they were expected. The Los Angeles Lak ps dealt center Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for 17-year-old, 6-foot-6 guard Kobe Bryant, the 13th pick in the June draft.

Minnesota traded center Andrew Lang to Milwaukee in exchange for the first-round pick the Timberwolves got from the Bucks in the draft-day deal sending Ray Allen to the Bucks for Stephon Marbury.

By trading Divac, the Lakers cleared salary cap room ($8.5 million over the next two seasons) to go after O’Neal. They didn’t waste time.

“I had substantial discussions with Orlando and met with Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers,” said O’Neal’s agent, Len Armato. He said that other teams also called, but that “nothing is imminent.”

Aaron Goodwin, the agent for Payton, said he had received five offers - from New York, Miami, Seattle, Milwaukee and Charlotte - of a seven-year contract. Goodwin said he expects Payton to sign for no less than $70 million.

Spurs executive vice president Gregg Popovich was among those telephoning agents immediately after the starting gun fired.

Among the player representatives Popovich contacted were Jimmy Sexton, agent for Vernon Maxwell and Sedale Threatt, and George Andrews, agent for Derek Harper.

The Spurs are handicapped in their plunge into the free-agent market because the team is well over the salary cap and has only the $1 million exception with which to lure a player.

Popovich declined to talk about particular players in whom he is interested or agents with whom he spoke.

“It’s very early. We’ve let people know who we are interested in and who we like and heard about who is interested in us,” Popovich said. “Things should become a little cleared in 7-10 days or so.”

Sexton confirmed that Popovich talked to him about both Threatt and Maxwell.

“I talked to Gregg and I’d have to say it’s a little early to say whether or not the Spurs have a chance to sign one of these players,” Sexton said. “He didn’t say whether he was more interested in Threatt or Maxwell.”

Sources confirmed that Popovich spoke to Andrews about Harper. The Spurs’ best hope for attracting Harper hinges on the former Knicks and Mavericks point guard’s willingness to accept a contract beginning at $1 million and play on a contending team.

Before the free-agent frenzy began Thursday, lawyers from the league and the union reviewed about 300 pages of documents before signing them to end a year-long drama that included two lockouts, two ratification votes, two moratoriums and several 11th-hour compromises.

“The process has been a difficult one,” said Jeffrey Mishkin, the NBA’s chief legal officer. “But I think we now have an agreement that will provide a constructive framework for the long-term relationship between the NBA and its players.”

“We’re very happy with the deal,” said Jeffrey Kessler, the lead negotiator for the union. “It’s fair to the players, makes the players association much stronger and should lead to a renaissance of the union.”

By COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-07-14, By Kevin O’Keeffe

霍尔特是马刺球迷稳定法宝的希望

当我的四处打探表明彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)确实很有可能回归，并试图买入马刺时，我便开始追踪他。然而，每一次电话都得到的信息是霍尔特无法接听，不在城里，不在州里，甚至不在这个世界上……开玩笑啦。

但这并不妨碍我。

我知道霍尔特办公桌上堆满了电话留言，直到6月12日早晨他给我回电。

当霍尔特开始我们的谈话时，他为难以联系到我道歉。

霍尔特知道我知道他已经同意收购美国联合服务公司(USAA)持有的马刺队13.37%的股份。在我们谈话时，他承认了这一点。

“我不想对你‘无可奉告’，”霍尔特开始说，“但最重要的是，我不想对你撒谎。”

你必须喜欢一个马刺队的董事会主席如此坦率。这是一种令人耳目一新的变化。

现年47岁的霍尔特拥有一种魅力，这正是马刺队目前迫切需要的。自从球队于1973年秋季抵达圣安东尼奥以来，马刺球迷一再经受着情感和经济上的折磨。

你是否认为，当时马刺队的老板安吉洛·德罗索斯(Angelo Drossos)23年前“租借”了美国篮球协会(ABA)达拉斯牛仔队，是未来不确定性的预兆？

无论是德罗索斯威胁要将球队带到洛杉矶，除非他在旧体育馆的让步合同得到重新协商，还是麦克康姆斯(B.J. McCombs)声称球队并不出售，尽管他已经聘请了所罗门兄弟投资公司(Solomon Bros.)试图出售球队，或是麦克德莫特(McDermott)一年前7月4日的命令，声称如果城市不为球队建造一个新的球馆，球队就会搬迁，忠实的马刺球迷一直生活在阴霾之下。

请记住，1993年3月26日，当麦克德莫特(McDermott)组建了“22人团”从麦克康姆斯(McCombs)手中收购马刺队时，球迷们在欢呼的新闻发布会上被告知：“马刺队永远不会再谈论搬离圣安东尼奥。”

嗯……看来“永远”并没有以前那么长。

因此，马刺队上个春天只有一场主场季后赛比赛没有售罄的原因之一。

“我知道许多球迷感到失望，”霍尔特说。

马刺队的球迷们正在倾听一个真正理解是球队管理层造成了如今信任缺失的人。

对我来说，马刺队是职业体育史上最伟大的成功故事。

尽管圣安东尼奥缺乏企业基础，人均收入也较低，但你是否知道，在NBA年代，马刺队的最低平均上座率——1986-1987赛季的8010人（当时他们赢得了28场比赛）——超过了波士顿凯尔特人队和芝加哥公牛队在球队低谷时期吸引的人数？

到目前为止，霍尔特对球队的日常运营几乎没有发表任何意见，他只是在周四简短地与篮球运营副总裁格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)进行了会面。

然而，球队总裁杰克·迪勒(Jack Diller)似乎是霍尔特的影子？

现在，我希望霍尔特能建议波波维奇停止他的媒体咨询工作，尤其是当他使用“白痴”这个词时，就像波波维奇在关于《圣安东尼奥快报》(Express-News)报道马刺队董事会主席变动的长篇大论中所做的那样。

波波维奇是否应该更关注自己做出的决定，这些决定让马刺队超出了工资帽，无法在提升球队方面做太多事情？

你也会想知道，霍尔特是否会对球队需要一位年薪约70万美元，并且拥有球队1.88%股份的球队总裁感到疑问？

削减管理成本是马刺队董事会的第一要务。几位董事在周三会议后告诉我。

霍尔特表示，他计划以“非常包容”的态度担任主席，这意味着他将成为球队商业方面的代言人。

那么迪勒呢？他就像波波维奇一样，是被麦克德莫特(McDermott)聘用的。

这是彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)的阳光时刻。

对于一支长期笼罩在阴霾中的球队来说，希望的光芒来得正是时候。

点击查看原文：Holt is Spurs fans' hope for stability of franchise

Holt is Spurs fans’ hope for stability of franchise

When my snooping around indicated Peter Holt was indeed very much back in the picture of trying to buy into the Spurs, I began my pursuit of him. However, each telephone call produced information that Holt was unavailable, out of the city, out of the state, out of this world . . . just kidding.

Not that it stopped me.

I knew telephone messages were stacked quite high on Holt’s desk until he called the morning of June 12.

As Holt began our conversation, he apologized for being hard to reach.

Holt knew that I knew he had agreed to purchase the 13.37 percent of the Spurs that was held by USAA. He acknowledged such as we spoke.

“I didn’t want to `No comment’ you,” Holt began, “but most of all, I didn’t want to lie to you.”

You have to like that in a Spurs chairman of the board. It’s a refreshing change.

The 47-year-old Holt has a charisma this franchise desperately needs right now. Spurs fans repeatedly have been trampled on emotionally and financially since the team arrived in the fall of 1973.

Do you think because then-Spurs owner Angelo Drossos “leased” the American Basketball Association Dallas Chaparrals 23 years ago, that was a harbinger of the uncertainty which has followed?

Whether or not it was Drossos threatening to take the team to Los Angeles unless his concessions contract in the old Arena wasn’t

re-worked, or B.J. McCombs saying the team wasn’t for sale despite having Solomon Bros. investment firm on the job trying to sell it, or McDermott’s July 4th edict of a year ago that the team was moving unless the city built it a new arena, faithful Spurs fans have lived under a cloud.

Consider that on March 26, 1993, when McDermott put together the Gang of 22 to buy the Spurs from McCombs, fans were told at a triumphant press conference, “Never again will there be talk about the Spurs moving out of San Antonio.”

Hmmm . . . Guess never isn’t quite as long as it used to be.

Thus, one reason for the Spurs’ inability to sell out but one

home playoff game last spring.

“I am aware of the cynicism many fans feel,” Holt said.

Spurs’ fans are hearing a man who appreciates that it is franchise leadership which has created the credibility chasm present today.

To me, the Spurs are the greatest success story in the history of professional sports.

Despite San Antonio’s lack of a corporate base and small per capita income, were you aware the lowest Spurs’ average attendance in the NBA years - 8,010 in 1986-87, when they won 28 games -surpassed the crowds drawn in franchise low points for the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls?

Thus far, Holt has said little regarding the team’s day-to-day operations, having only briefly visited with VP of Basketball Operations Gregg Popovich on Thursday.

However, doesn’t it appear that team president Jack Diller is Holt’s shadow?

Now, I’d hope Holt would suggest to Popovich that he cease his media consulting work, especially when using the word “idiot,” as Popovich did in a diatribe regarding Express-News coverage of the Spurs’ change in board chairmen.

Might Popovich be better served concerning himself with decisions he made which have put the Spurs above the salary cap, unable to do much in upgrading the club?

You wonder, too, if Holt may have some question about the need for a club president who makes in the neighborhood of $700,000 per year, plus having a 1.88 percent share in the team?

Cutting administrative costs is one of the Spurs’ Board of Directors first priorities. Several told me that following Wednesday’s meeting.

Holt said he planned to be “very inclusive” as chairman, which suggests that he’ll be the spokesman for the business side.

So what of Diller, who, like Popovich, was hired by McDermott?

This is Peter Holt’s moment in the sun.

And for a franchise too long under a cloud, those rays of hope couldn’t come at a better time.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News