Wednesday, August 7, 2013

215 Basketball: Sixers ownership group wants to buy...the Devils?!

August 7, 2013

By Nick Tricome


The Sixers still need to find a head coach, but that may not be team owner Joshua Harris' only priority.

According to multiple reports, Harris and the rest of the Sixers' ownership group are looking to buy the New Jersey Devils.


Yup, that's right. That team that just so happens to be in the same division as the hockey team the Sixers have to share an arena with, the owners are trying to buy them.

The Devils' current owner Jeff Vanderbeek, who owns both the Devils and their home arena the Prudential Center, is $230 million in debt and has been looking to sell the team.

Attorney Andrew Barroway and his group were also looking to buy the Devils, but so far nothing has ever came of it after reports of the possible sale popped up at the end of June. Fun fact, Barroway also tried to buy the Sixers before Harris eventually did.

Harris' group bought the Sixers from Comcast-Spectacor in 2011. Should they acquire majority ownership of the Devils, then the Sixers could fall back into the same hole they where in under Comcast-Spectacor's control.

The Sixers were owned by Comcast-Spectacor from 1996 to 2011, but they always seemed to get put on the backburner while chairman Ed Snider focused on the Flyers, who he founded in 1966.

That is not to say that Harris' group will do that to the Sixers, but it is possible. The reverse is possible too, they might even be able to balance owning both teams as a matter of fact

However, the fact that Harris' group is looking to buy one of the Flyers' rivals while the basketball team they currently own is still without a head coach could make some fans question where their heart is.

But Harris' group doesn't own the Devils yet, so it's best to wait and see how this plays out before Sixers and Flyers fans alike get up in arms.

In the meantime, what happens first? The Sixers find a head coach or their owners buy the Devils?

(Image from Liberty Ballers)

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