Recently local attorney/NBA fisherman, J. Bruce Miller has been spending the $89,000 that the city has given him to land an NBA franchise in Louisville. Miller is charging the city $125 an hour for his innate ability to do tasks such as "'Googling' and reading 'in depth' team information, performing Lexis-Nexis searches and preparing to-do lists." His recent conclusion is that Louisville "has a long way to go." Thanks for the breaking news. You know J. Bruce, I do the exact same tasks when I'm setting my fantasy football lineup or installing crown molding.It all sounds fishy to me. Who is holding this guy accountable for that money? From my seat, the guy is in a win-win-win situation. If he somehow lands an NBA team (1) he will be the hero, if that doesn't happen, then (2) "oh well" we are just a small time player, and (3) he writes another book about how close we were to getting a team. The city said that's it, the $89K is all the money they are willing to spend...yeah right. When Miller turns up the heat, the check book will open.
Two "red herrings" jump out to me immediately in a sea of fish. The idea of where the team will play and this line Miller is selling about a billionaire investor.
Miller says he met with NBA commish David Stern recently and had a great chat about Louisville's future in the NBA. How is that even possible when the words "Freedom Hall" came out of Miller's mouth. It's unfathomable and I love the old gal. Freedom Hall is a great place to watch hoops but she really shows her age when compared to the KFC Yum! Center. Miller is selling the idea of an $80 million dollar renovation to the Hall. Where is that money coming from J.? Don't forget Rupp Arena is due for a major overhaul or a new building in the coming years. Maybe it will come from the man behind the curtain...his foreign billionaire.
Word is recently that Miller has obtained a "no shopping" agreement from an ownership interest looking to obtain a franchise and bring it to Louisville. Miller also said he has a billionaire investor on board, one of the richest people in the world, that has thrown his support behind the effort. Miller isn't releasing any of his investors and I can understand that. It's big business. But how odd does he sound when he's throwing words around like "foreign," "billionaire," and "richest man in the world?" It's more James Bond than Lebron James. It sounds intriguing...intriguing enough that I'd bet the city will throw more money at him. How could a billionaire think moving an NBA team to Louisville to play in a 60 year old arena a good idea? Maybe the billionaire is Kim-Jong il. He makes sound decisions.
The bottom line is that it's not a good idea. Not until (1) the secrecy is gone, (2) a deal is reached to play in the Yum! Center, and (3) the local media spares us the Rick Pitino soundbites.
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