NBA says NYTimes.com blog was based on inaccurate info

The following is an official release from the NBA:

The information from Forbes that serves as the basis for this article is inaccurate and we do not know how they do their calculations. Forbes does not have the financial data for our teams and the magazine’s estimates do not reflect reality.

Precisely to avoid this issue, the NBA and its teams shared their complete league and team audited financials as well as our state and Federal tax returns with the Players Union. Those financials demonstrate the substantial and indisputable losses the league has incurred over the past several years.

The analysis that was posted this afternoon has several significant factual inaccuracies, including:

“(The NBA) is a fundamentally healthy and profitable business”

• The league lost money every year of the just expiring CBA. During these years, the league has never had positive Net Income, EBITDA or Operating Income.

“Many of the purported losses result from an unusual accounting treatment related to depreciation and amortization when a team is sold.”

• We use the conventional and generally accepted accounting (GAAP) approach and include in our financial reporting the depreciation of the capital expenditures made in the normal course of business by the teams as they are a substantial and necessary cost of doing business.

We do not include purchase price amortization from when a team is sold or under any circumstances in any of our reported losses. Put simply, none of the league losses are related to team purchase or sale accounting.

“Another trick…moving income from the team’s balance sheet to that of a related business like a cable network…”

• All revenues included in Basketball Related Income (“BRI”) and reported in our financial statements have been audited by an accounting firm jointly engaged by the players’ union and the league. They include basketball revenues reported on related entities’ books.

“Ticket revenues… are up 22% compared to 1999-2000 season”

• Ticket revenues have increased 12% over the 10 year period, not the 22% reported.

“17 teams lost money according to Forbes … Most of these losses were small…”

• Forbes’ claim is inaccurate. In 2009-10, 23 teams had net income losses. The losses were in no way “small” as 11 teams lost more than $20M each on a net income basis.

“The profits made by the Knicks, Bulls and Lakers alone would be enough to cover the losses of all 17 unprofitable teams.”

• The Knicks, Bulls and Lakers combined net income for 2009-10 does not cover the losses of the 23 unprofitable teams. Our net loss for that year, including the gains from the seven profitable teams, was -$340 million.

“Forbes’s estimates — a $183 million profit for the NBA in 2009-10, and those issued by the league, which claim a $370M loss…”

• Forbes’s data is inaccurate. Our losses for 2009-10 were -$340 million, not -$370 million as the article states.

“The leaked financial statements for one team, the New Orleans Hornets, closely matched the Forbes data…”

• This is not an accurate statement as operating income in the latest Forbes data (2009-10) is $5M greater than what is reported in the Hornets audited financials.

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Celtics need help at center

Chris Forsberg of ESPN reports:

Jermaine O'Neal

The Celtics are in need of some big-man help with 32-year-old Jermaine O’Neal and his balky knee currently the only true center inked for the 2011-12 campaign. What’s more, Boston doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on a position that typically commands big money and, unless you have money, there’s not a lot of options on the open market.

So what’s feasible? The Celtics can cross their fingers that the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions live on in the next CBA and that those might offer limited flexibility in targeting serviceable big men. But even if the mid-level stays around $5.8 million like last season, that’s certainly not enough to lure prizes like Nene ($11.4 million last season) or Tyson Chandler ($12.6 million). Heck, it might not be enough to entice Samuel Dalembert ($13.4 million), who is in line for a hefty salary decrease, but is going to have plenty of interest from the mid-level crew (including the rival Heat who remain in similar pursuit of big-man help).

What’s left? Go completely AARP with 39-year-old Kurt Thomas? Maybe another flirtation with Kwame Brown? Want to roll the dice with Joel Przybilla’s knees? Prefer to just go bargain basement and see what happens (Go ahead and Google Alexis Ajinca, we’ll give you a minute)?

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Nets draft pick Bojan Bogdanovic will stay overseas

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports:

The 22-year-old Croatian shooting guard, who was drafted 31st by the Nets last week, has three years remaining on his contract with a professional team in Turkey, Fenerbahce, and will never play a home game in New Jersey.

Nets GM Billy King [one week ago] said Bogdanovic, already seven years into his pro career, has an out in his contract after two years, but he’ll try to pry him after one. The Nets move to Brooklyn for the 2012-13 season.

It’s an advantageous situation for both sides, given Bogdanovic’s greenness and the Nets’ crowded backcourt — which now includes MarShon Brooks. Fenerbahce is a European power with former players including Omer Asik, Enes Kanter and Semih Erden.

Will Mavs search for a backup power forward?

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports:

A summer ago the Dallas Mavericks made hard pushes for free-agent power forwards Al Harrington (chose to sign with the Denver Nuggets) and Udonis Haslem (re-signed with the Miami Heat).

Obviously, a guy named Dirk Nowitzki has the position pretty well locked down, but could the Mavs again be in the market for more of a traditional power forward — perhaps a Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes or short-time Mav Kris Humphries — to back up Dirk? Remember, for much of the season small forward Shawn Marion shifted between the two forward positions.

Or, did the little-used, yet ever-ready Brian Cardinal, also a free agent, secure his return to the team next season and potentially bigger minutes after filling such a vital role in the NBA Finals?

For starters, scratch high-priced free agents like Kenyon Martin and David West off the wish list. The Mavs will not be dipping into the deep end of that pool, and there’s obviously no reason for entrenched starters to join Dallas.

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Pacers set to name Frank Vogel head coach

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports:

Coach Frank Vogel

One of the NBA’s worst kept secrets will come to an end Wednesday when Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird introduces Frank Vogel as the team’s new coach, multiple people with knowledge of the situation said.

Removing the interim title from Vogel’s name isn’t surprising.

Bird called Vogel the frontrunner after he took over for the fired Jim O’Brien in January and led the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I support this. The Pacers played a solid, effective (and fun) brand of basketball under Coach Vogel last season. And I really liked the way the Pacers played in the first round of the playoffs against the Bulls. Good move.

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Nicolas Batum considers playing in Europe

The Oregonian reports:

nicolas batum

French newspaper L’ouest-France, to Batum: You’ve had discussions with Nancy (French basketball team) for the next season if the lockout continues in the NBA. What’s the deal?

Batum: “The discussions surrounding the lockout are going to endure for quite awhile unfortunately. I’ve always said I don’t want to wait 3-4 months without playing and if that means coming back to France, it would be so that I could evolve with a team and participate in the Euro Cup, and especially the Euroleague. Nothing is official, but Nancy is an interesting club who competes and gets results, and who has regularly been in the final for the French League championship in the past few years with their coach, Jean-Luc Monschau. He’s a really good coach, and he has a good staff. The club has good qualities, and it’s true that I have contacts there.”