Bob Johnson's Q&A with the Observer

I've got a question for Bob Johnson . . .

When you decided to bring the NBA to Charlotte, didn't you calculate into your business plan how much revenue you could generate in a smaller NBA market? You expressed concerned that a small market team that uses 80% of their income on team salaries may have trouble competing; Didn't you think about this possible issue when deciding if you should bring an NBA team here? Certainly, how much you could get from sponsors, TV/radio deals, etc. was part of your equation in bringing the NBA back to Charlotte, right ? ? ?


Q&A WITH BOBCATS OWNER BOB JOHNSON
Bobcats boss shares his plan to win
Johnson: Willing to spend to win


When Michael Jordan, a part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats with control of the team's basketball operations, sent a letter to season-ticket holders this week outlining his vision for the team, he stressed the team will spend whatever it takes to build a winner.

That's a message Bob Johnson, the team's majority owner, says has always been there.

"I didn't spend $300 million for a franchise not to have a winning team," Johnson told the Observer on Friday in an interview.

Q. What was the purpose of Michael Jordan's letter to season-ticket holders? What we've got to do is dispel this notion that this organization is not committed to putting a winning product on the court. I didn't spend $300 million for a franchise not to have a winning team. I don't know where that (notion) came from, other than I'm a business guy who wants to make money. And clearly there are winning teams that make money, so it's not a foreign idea. The question is, how to do it?

Q. OK. How to do it? We have business models that show if we do well on the court and in the community and as a management team, it's a very good business. You've got to invest capital to get to be profitable, then, once it's profitable, you continue to run it smartly. The correlation for us is that we've got to win -- which is what we're on the cusp of -- and then win some more. Then you've got fan appeal and fan satisfaction. Then you've got fan competition to get into the arena. Now, we don't do a cost benefit on players we might sign: Who is going to get us more sponsors and ticket sales? But we do talk about which one is better in the community, in the team's culture and for fan appeal. That should translate into the financial equation.

Q. Why have there been no major free-agent signings yet? Has there been a change-agent out there to sign? No. You can't put a winning product on the floor if there ain't no winning product to buy.

Q. How close are you to having a winner on the court? You only need two solid "A" players and a few more "B" players. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Fill in some role players around them.

Q. You signed a letter to the NBA recently with seven other owners suggesting it was impossible for small-market teams to turn a profit without revenue sharing. Can you explain that? If you spend up to the (salary) cap, then small-market teams spend 81 to 82 percent of their income on players. That's almost impossible for a market to be profitable. The average for the (larger) teams is 57 percent of their income is spent on players. So how does the league create an environment so that every team has an equal opportunity to succeed?

Q. How has Jordan's first year gone, and are you satisfied with his relationship with coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff? It's been pretty seamless. The first thing he did was to get into Bernie's head: "Tell me what you've got. How are you managing what you've got?" He got comfortable that Bernie was doing it right.

Q. Rap artist Nelly, one of the Bobcats' minority owners, is in the news for being at a Las Vegas strip club where a fight broke out and three people were shot during NBA all-star weekend. He's not accused of any wrongdoing. Your reaction? I wasn't there, so I don't know what went on.

Q. Will Bickerstaff remain as coach and general manager, or just as general manager? You'll have to ask Michael.

Q. Do you anticipate re-signing Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace and Matt Carroll this summer? You're talking to the wrong guy.

 

It seems like the last thing on his mind is basketball and it's all about the money. Not sounding surprised...just sayin

 

Too bad we didn't have a Mark Cuban around wanting to own a franchise. We got a guy more interested in making a buck than winning games..

 

Cuban is a once in a lifetime type owner. I'd rather have Bob Johnson, who at least realizes that he doesn't know enough about basketball to try to meddle, than an owner who thinks he can build a winner himself.

This coming offseason will be the first real test to see whether he's interested in bankrolling a winner. Until then, I'm witholding judgement on what his preference is.

 

This guy is full of shit. I watched The Bryant Gumbel thing on HBO featuring Cuban. Damn...that's an owner. Our owner is in it for money alone...and he's failing. CSET was one of the dumbest ideas I'd ever heard of. Now...if you have CHARLOTTE CABLE you can watch the games...but to TWC? No Bobcats. He needs the support of the surrounding communities, but he's shut them out.

I hope this guy has to sell. I think I hate him.

 

CSET in itself wasn't a bad idea . . . Just sticking on TWC Digital Tier (and TWC only) was what killed the network. I thought bob johnson would've been smart enough to demand it be on basic cable and allow other cable systems in the Carolinas to carry it. Owning a sports network isn't a bad idea; It can add value to the francishe if done rightly (YES/Yankees, NESN/Red Sox, Nuggets-Avalanche/Altitude Network, TBS/Braves). Asking Bobcats/Sting staff members to come up with CSET programming ideas was kinda dumb though

 

He tried C-Set about five years too early. I tend to get the feeling that he hired a bunch of yes men when he first started the team, and got burned big time by it.

 

Michael and I have been friends for almost over 17 years, and ever since I have acquired the Bobcats franchise, one of my goals has been to get Michael Jordan to become my partner in operating the team. I don’t think I have to make the case for Michael’s basketball expertise, his knowledge or his competitiveness as a player, and I think those same things exhibited themselves when he was a part owner of the other organization. I am very excited to have a native North Carolinian be a part of the Bobcats and excited to have a friend of mine – who I have absolute confidence in – oversee our basketball personnel decision making process. In addition, I get the added benefit of having Michael get the opportunity to advance with me in other business opportunities outside of basketball. As I informed the other owners when we met, I’m very excited about this and looking forward to Michael joining the very dynamic ownership group that we already have in place as part of the Bobcats organization