Pera gives Grizzlies needed stability
So now we know. Now we know that Robert Pera will continue to own the Memphis Grizzlies. Now we know that Pera will not be selling his shares to Steve Kaplan or Robert Straus. Now we know that the franchise will not go through a summer of upheaval and an ensuing season of uncertainty. Now we know. And what we know is good. Pera revealed his decision to “retain his controlling interest in connection with the buy-sell process” in a letter to season ticket holders. It was a nice touch, given what season ticket holders have been through this year.
Pera went on to write that “I am committed to Memphis as an NBA market and as the home of the Grizzlies.”
In a trying season for the franchise, that may qualify been the best news of the year.
And, no, I am not telling you that I trust Pera to keep the team in Memphis forever and ever.
I wouldn’t trust any out-of-town owner to do that.
As long as there are bigger, richer cities out there in search of a franchise (cough, cough, Seattle) a small-market team like Memphis will always be at least theoretically in play.
Nor am I telling you that Pera has been the perfect owner of the Grizzlies. In particular, he has allowed the franchise to careen along without any public leadership or vision for far too long.
But I can tell you that the civic leaders who are closest to the situation are thrilled — or at least greatly relieved — by the outcome of this arduous process. It’s stability instead of instability. It’s the owner they know instead of the owner they don’t.
It’s an owner who donated $1 million to the Grizzlies Foundation — and who has put people in power who are deeply committed to the city of Memphis —