Bobcats' value is 2nd lowest in NBA

Did you see the Forbes magazine estimate that the Charlotte Bobcats are worth $284 million?

Forbes lists the Bobcats as having the second-lowest value in the league, ahead of the No. 30 Milwaukee Bucks at $278 million.

Some thoughts on all this:

-- Whenever these things come out – and Forbes does this every year – I’m reminded what former Charlotte Hornets president Spencer Stolpen would say: An NBA team is worth what someone will pay for it, not what Forbes thinks. Valid point, but I bet Forbes is in the ballpark.

-- If Forbes is anything close to accurate, the Bobcats are worth about $100 million less than the typical NBA team, and $16 million less than Bob Johnson originally paid for them. If you add a reasonable estimate of what Johnson has paid in working capital, he’s lost close to $100 million owning this team.

-- I got an email from a reader, a Bobcats fan who also works for one of the local banks in securities. He asked if I could see a scenario where Johnson simply gives up, shuttering the team and declaring corporate bankruptcy against the debts (like well over $100 million in future player salaries).

I replied that while I’d never anticipate things that happened on Wall Street the past six months, I still don’t believe an NBA franchise would go under.

If the Hawks and Grizzlies are any example, the league would intercede at some point and find a buyer. When Johnson would sell is quite another matter.

Here’s what I mean: I’m guessing Johnson wouldn’t sell the team right now for the $284 million Forbes says it’s worth. I’m also guessing there’s no one with both the interest and resources to write him a check for $284 million.

That means he’ll sit on his asset for awhile, knowing it would be costly, if not impossible, to move the thing out of Charlotte.

The wild card in all this is how the league’s power structure views Johnson. He’s already been ripped at least once by a fellow owner for calling out the Charlotte business community. I’m told by someone who would know that commissioner David Stern isn’t inclined to do much to ease Johnson’s financial pain.

I believe that sooner or later (more likely later), Michael Jordan will own controlling interest in this franchise and will leave it in Charlotte. I’m not saying he, personally, will own 51 percent. I’m saying at some point, Jordan and the rich guys who love to hang out with him will buy out Johnson.

And while Jordan’s basketball decisions are mixed at best, on balance that would put this franchise back on track.