Zombie Judge dismisses lawsuit by former Trail Blazers GM Bob Whitsitt

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SlyPokerDog, Jul 31, 2014.

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  1. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    A lawsuit filed by two sports industry executives who claimed they were owed a $2 million finders fee after the Philadelphia 76ers were sold three years ago, was thrown out by a federal judge earlier this week.

    Bob Whitsitt, the former president of the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers, and Thomas Shine, a former executive with Reebok International Ltd., filed a lawsuit in late 2011 in which they claimed they introduced investor Jason Levien to Comcast-Spectacor chairman Edward Snider at a lunch meeting in 2010.

    Levien, a one-time NBA player agent and former assistant general manager with the Sacramento Kings, was part of the large group of investors that group bought the Sixers from Comcast-Spectacor for $280 million in 2011. The group was led by New York-based leveraged buyout specialist and Apollo Group Management co-founder Joshua Harris.

    Philadelphia sports and entertainment company Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers, argued it only agreed to pay a finders fee if the duo identified a new controlling owner for the Sixers.

    According to court documents, controlling owner was defined as someone who “owns at least 15 percent of the equity interest in the franchise and has exclusive authority to manage the operations of the franchise.”

    Comcast-Spectacor, a division of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMSCA), said it paid a finders fee related to the sale of the Sixers to another entity.

    Levien, according to court records, attempted to put together a group to buy the Sixers, but he later joined the group led by Harris.

    Harris is the controlling owner of the Sixers. According to court documents, David Blitzer, senior managing director of the investment banking firm The Blackstone Group, and Harris each own 39.13 percent of the Sixers, while Levien Sports LP, led by Levien, owns 8.7 percent.

    U.S. District Judge Petrese Tucker in Philadelphia dismissed the lawsuit saying Whitsitt and Shine failed to meet the requirements for the finders fee, which was to identify a controlling owner.

    http://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...es-lawsuit-by-duo-seeking-2m-finders-fee.html
     
    SlyPokerDog, Jul 31, 2014
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  2. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    3 years ago when Whitsitt sued, it was on this board. I said that even if Levien is now a minority owner, if he owns 15%, Bob might win. Now we're told he owns 8.7%. I bet that one reason Whitsitt sued was to discover the owner percentages.

    I think I also posted that it wasn't clear whether the contract required Levien to just lead a competing group in which he's controlling owner. That he was, but later after reformulation of groups, the new winning group consisted of the strongest member from each initial group.
     
    jlprk, Jul 31, 2014
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  3. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    If I were the Knicks, Nets or Lakers I would have hired Whitsitt as GM. When given unlimited money that guy can turn a roster.
     
    SlyPokerDog, Jul 31, 2014
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  4. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Soon after the Seahawks gig he got colon cancer, I think it was. He was quiet for awhile and stopped running in the rat race. Since then he's operated as if he's retired. Now he's too old for a comeback.
     
    jlprk, Jul 31, 2014
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  5. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    jlprk, Jul 31, 2014
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  6. NewsSource

    NewsSource Banned User BANNED

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    NewsSource, Jul 31, 2014
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  7. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Which GMs spend their own money on player personnel?
     
    Minstrel, Aug 1, 2014
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  8. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    Jerry Jones.
     
    SlyPokerDog, Aug 1, 2014
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  9. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Good point.
     
    Minstrel, Aug 1, 2014
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  10. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    As a life long Cowboys fan I see nothing good about it.
     
    SlyPokerDog, Aug 1, 2014
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  11. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    As a lifelong 49ers fan, I'm okay with it. Go Jerrah.
     
    Minstrel, Aug 1, 2014
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  12. NewsSource

    NewsSource Banned User BANNED

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    Mark Cuban
     
    NewsSource, Aug 1, 2014
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  13. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Outside of Texas, then.
     
    Minstrel, Aug 1, 2014
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  14. NewsSource

    NewsSource Banned User BANNED

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    I'm not sure. Maybe I'll email Whitsitt's LLC and ask him.
     
    NewsSource, Aug 1, 2014
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  15. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    If I were GM, I'd want to spend my owner's money, not my own.

    Unless I was also the owner. Then I'd spend my own.
     
    Minstrel, Aug 1, 2014
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  16. NewsSource

    NewsSource Banned User BANNED

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    Well, if you want to have A LOT of your money spent with little to show for it, you should hire Whitsitt.
     
    NewsSource, Aug 1, 2014
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  17. Minstrel

    Minstrel Top Of The Pops Global Moderator

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    Well, I'd say he was boom or bust, really. The Blazers got a lot of value for a lot of money spent for a while. And then they got very little for a lot of money spent. And then he was fired.
     
    Minstrel, Aug 1, 2014
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  18. NewsSource

    NewsSource Banned User BANNED

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    The 2000 WCFs weren't with the 9 years of horrific play that followed, IMO. The '99 WCF were in the shortened-season, and that team was not very good.
     
    NewsSource, Aug 1, 2014
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  19. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    We went 35-15 (.700). In the 3rd round (Western Finals) we lost 4-0 to the Spurs. In the next round (NBA Finals) the Spurs won the championship 4-1, demoralizing fans like you.

    In 2014, the Spurs again had it super-together. They beat us 4-1 in the 2nd round and went on to be champs, 4-1, demoralizing LeBron into leaving.

    The '99 Blazers were far better than the current team, which we seem to think is so good. Bring back Bob!
     
    jlprk, Aug 2, 2014
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  20. OneLifeToLive

    OneLifeToLive Well-Known Member

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    I'm a Trader Bob fan, always have been. I think what he really needed was not to be dismissed but to be given a new direction and framework to live by by the owner. To be made to do business the way his last 6 gms were made to do business. With fiscal responsibility, eye on character and chemistry and with the eye on the community. He would have been successful under any circumstance. IMO, There hasn't been another gm that has walked through this organization that could do what he did. The way he could broker and structure deals was unbelieveable. And he could recruit.

    I would take him back.
     
    OneLifeToLive, Aug 2, 2014
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