Heat’s Micky Arison NBA Owner With Most to Lose During Lockout?


The Miami Herald argues that the Heat’s owner has the most on the line during this potentially long NBA lockout: “You’re approaching the one-year anniversary of creating arguably the most interesting team in sports history (sure, it was top heavy, but those three top players alone carried sports conversations for an entire year) and the health of your franchise has never been better, with Forbes estimating the Heat to be worth $425 million. You’re coming off an NBA Finals where your team fell painfully short of its second world championship, and you have only three more years of guaranteed time with the LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade before their player options come up, giving all three the freedom to head elsewhere if this isn’t working out as planned. Is this really the time for labor strife to potentially cost you a full season? Isn’t this the worst possible time to consider bonding with these newer, more desperate owners around the league for the sake of shared health? Wouldn’t a potential lost season put a huge dent into this perfect model you essentially have spent four years planning for and building? There might not be another owner in the NBA with more to lose if the league loses an entire season than Arison. And he is just one of several who provides proof that this NBA lockout will essentially come down to owners bickering among other owners rather than the more common players-versus-owners picture that is normally painted.”