LeBron James put on a show in the Lakers' preseason loss to the Suns in Las Vegas on Wednesday, scoring 23 points in front of the Sin City crowd. If James has his way, Wednesday's game would be a chapter of many to come for him and basketball in Las Vegas.
After his preseason showcase, James called on NBA commissioner Adam Silver to add a team in Las Vegas, while also making a personal plea to own the team if the league does expand to Sin City.
"I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing," James said. "I know Adam is in Abu Dhabi right now, I believe (the Bucks and Hawks are playing a preseason game there on Saturday). But he probably sees every single interview and transcript that comes through from NBA players.
"So, I want the team here, Adam. Thank you."
This marked the second time in a few months that James has stated he wants to own an NBA team in Vegas sometime in the future, with the first time coming on his YouTube show, "The Shop."
FOX Sports' Shannon Sharpe believes that James is just sending a reminder to the commissioner about what he wants to do in the future.
"LeBron is basically saying, ‘Adam, don’t forget your boy,'" Sharpe said on Thursday's "Undisputed." "Obviously, you have to partner with someone because it seems to be the value of these franchises have skyrocketed in price."
LeBron James campaigns to own an NBA franchise in Las Vegas
Sharpe mentioned how the prices of NBA franchises have gone up ever since Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion in 2014. More recently, Joe Tsai completed a $3.3 billion purchase to own 100 percent of the Nets in 2019 and Tillman Fertitta bought the Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017.
Even though James recently became a billionaire, Sharpe believes that the four-time NBA champion won't be able to own the team alone.
"He's probably going to have to be a minority owner to start, like Michael Jordan did with the Hornets before he bought the rest of the team from Bob Johnson," Sharpe said. "But I could see it happening."
James already has a stake in multiple sports teams. He and Maverick Carter have teamed up with Fenway Sports Group in recent years, making James a part-owner of the Red Sox and Liverpool F.C.
If the opportunity comes soon, Sharpe believes that James would give up playing to own an NBA team in Las Vegas.
If James does become involved with a future NBA team's ownership, Bayless believes that he'll run into one major problem.
"I don't think he'd be a good owner, he'd be a great owner," Bayless said. "It also raises the question … would he insist on being the GM the same way Jordan has insisted, to his detriment, of being the GM? I can't say this for a fact, but the history would tell you LeBron wouldn't be a great GM. It's just hard. You would have to be completely removed. The greater the player, the harder it is to know who can play because none of them are going to be as good as you. None. Zero.
"The odds are, if he owns the team in Vegas for 20 years, there will never be a player as good or better as LeBron James. That's his problem."
