The AP reports:
New Orleans Hornets owner George Shinn has agreed to sell the club to the NBA and the transaction could be completed within a couple days, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The league has lined up New Orleans-born sports attorney Jac Sperling, vice chairman of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, to be the NBA’s administrator of the team and oversee its sale to a more permanent owner, the person told The Associated Press on Sunday on condition of anonymity because the move hasn’t been publicly announced.
Current Hornets President Hugh Weber will continue overseeing day-to-day operations of what will be the first NBA team to be owned by the league, the person said…
Attendance for Hornets games has been lower than the club hoped, despite a 13-7 record. Through 10 home games, average attendance has been 13,865.
If it doesn’t pick up, the Hornets could have the right to break their lease at the New Orleans Arena after this season. The lease runs through 2014, but the team is allowed to break it if average attendance falls below 14,735 during a two-year period.
