Washington Wizards: Ted Leonsis had the best offseason
There’s room for debate on how well the Washington Wizards did this offseason. Majority owner Ted Leonsis gives it an “A”. But the real MVP this summer is Mr. Leonsis himself.
The Washington Wizards made some moves this offseason. Most notably picking up Dwight Howard.
Arguably, they are a better team than last season with their “deeper bench”.
In fact, Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis believes, that his front office led by President Ernie Grunfeld did an excellent job, giving them an “A”.
"“I thought what Ernie did this offseason is exactly what we had planned,” Leonsis said. “I think when a season ends you sit down and see what you want to accomplish. For the Wizards, it was we need to have more balance and more depth and be more prepared for injuries.”"
Not handing out a summer report card, I also believe Washington did a good job. They do have a better bench with Austin Rivers, Jeff Green and Troy Brown, Jr. Most importantly, both Rivers and Green can run with the first unit.
Thus, putting less wear and tear on the All-Star backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. However, grades should be handed out at the end of the season. Retroactively, if you will.
But the real winner this offseason is Ted Leonsis himself.
From the moment the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Leonsis bet on himself. (Even years before that).
The Court’s ruling allows states to legalize sports betting.
On the day of the decision, May 14, 2018, Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban gleefully explained to CNBC:
"“I think everyone who owns a top four professional sports team just basically saw the value of their team double,” the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks said in a “Squawk Alley” interview. “It can finally become fun to go to a baseball game again.”"
In Cuban’s words, owners of an NBA, NHL, NFL and NBA tea, just saw the value of their teams double.
Leonsis owns two of those sports franchises, the Wizards and the champion Capitals.
I’m guessing Leonsis hopes that there’s an Arena Football League expansion, and that gets added to the list. But I’m not the visionary here, so like I said, I’m just guessing.
He currently owns two AFL teams: the Washington Valor and the Baltimore Brigade. Congratulations to the Valor who recently won the championship.
But because we’re talking about Cuban and Leonsis there’s an app for that.
Leonsis, partial owner of a sports betting app
ESPN spoke with Leonsis back in March, before the Court’s decision.
In the article, A Glimpse into the future of legalized sports betting, Darren Rovell envisioned the Wizards arena in 2023 as follows:
"“At noon inside the Netflix Center, when all the Premier League action is over, the crowd starts to grow. The concession stands flip from breakfast to lunch. A huge projector drops from the arena roof, and feeds from all the early NFL games are brought in. Fans punch in a number on their iPhone XV’s, and wireless earbuds allow them to hear the broadcast from the game of their choice.On the app, fans wirelessly connect their phones to the arena Rumble chairs. When a big play happens in a game, the chair lights up and vibrates: red for a play that is negative for that bettor, green for a play that’s positive. There are no kiosks to place bets, as there are no humans needed to cash bets. Bets are stored and recorded in a virtual wallet, which can be used immediately inside the arena or transferred to a bank.“And then, if you are a big bettor with us, you’re automatically rewarded with more,” Leonsis recently told ESPN.”"
But why should casinos have all the fun? Shouldn’t the NBA, and the other leagues have a cut in the casinos money.
You don’t think Big “Ernie” is going to let the casinos get away with that.
On Tuesday, the NBA announced their partnership with MGM Resorts International.
The Supreme Court ruling was historical, as well as the the NBA’s announcement as well. Because they’re the first sports league to have a gaming partner.
But back to the app. Leonsis is a part owner in Sportradar US, LLC. According to Bloomberg, the sport data company:
"“delivers real-time data and content of various professional sports, leagues, and events in the United States and internationally. It offers live sports products, such as real-time game scores, player statistics, and editorial content.”"
I’m not going to attempt to pierce the corporate veil.
But in simple terms, I’ll tell you that Leonsis, Cuban, Michael Jordan, Leonsis company Revolution Growth are part owners of this sports data app. It’s a subsidiary of international Sportradar AG.
While everyone has been keeping their eye on the ball on the court, Leonsis has been keeping his eye on another Court.
If you want to hear Leonsis’ Congressional testimony promoting legalized sports betting, it begins at the 5:45 mark: