NBA board approves sale of Bobcats to Jordan

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA Board of Governors made it official on Wednesday by unanimously approving Michael Jordan's acquisition of a controlling interest of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Jordan and MJ Basketball Holdings, LLC reached an agreement to purchase the majority of the team from Bobcats owner Bob Johnson in late February, but was awaiting official approval by the league.

"We are pleased that Michael Jordan's purchase of majority ownership of the Bobcats was approved by the NBA's Board of Governors and closed in such a smooth and expeditious fashion," said NBA commissioner David Stern. "We look forward to the continued growth of the Bobcats, on and off the court, under his leadership."

Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, became the first black American to be the principal owner of a North American major-league sports franchise when Charlotte began play in 2004.

Jordan joined the Bobcats ownership group in June 2006 and served as the team's managing member of basketball operations, the same position he held with the Washington Wizards earlier in the decade.

As a five-time league MVP, six-time champion and two-time gold medal winner, Jordan has few rivals in regards to his game on the court.

The North Carolina native's stints in the front office, however, have come under some scrutiny.

First was the tumultuous 2003 split with the Wizards after 3 1/2 unsuccessful years with the organization as president of basketball operations, a position he held while he was finishing up his playing days.

Now in Charlotte, Jordan has rarely been seen at team practices or games despite calling the shots on all personnel transactions.

His most notable move thus far was luring fellow Hall-of-Famer, and North Carolina alum, Larry Brown to coach the team at the start of the 2008-09 season.

The Bobcats have never made the playoffs, but, entering Wednesday, sit in the sixth position in the Eastern Conference race with a 34-32 record this season.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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