Lakers Rumors: Lakers returns loan and Shaq talks Vegas and team sales

Lakers rumors have ground to a virtual halt with the NBA in hiatus. On May 8th, the NBA and NBAPA will meet. Will Shaq’s statement about Vegas be discussed? Lake Show Life talks finances about the Lakers, Vegas and comparisons to other teams.

Who thought Lakers rumors would spread out over financial sheets of NBA teams and possibly politics? Lake Show Life didn’t and the separation of politics and sports probably will disappear with each passing week.

The effects of the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic as of this writing will depend on who you ask. With each passing day, this fluid situation changes by the hour, press conference and cable news show. When the NBA was indefinitely suspended late March 11th, 2020, it was all about the health of the players and getting the proper testing to stem the virus.

Thankfully all players that had the virus, which included two unnamed Lakers players, have recovered and the dynamics have shifted reportedly to a few major challenges for Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA.

• Finding a way to continue the rest of the season throughout the playoffs to crown a champion.
• The financial losses from parties that would surprise many that will accumulate on a daily basis until the challenge above is figured out. 
• Before all of this happens, teams actually have to get back into their facilities which have been shut down as well.

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers have their answer for now. Thanks to a report from Shams Charania, the team can start operations under strict social distancing protocols on March 16th.

Over the last couple of months, the financial ramifications are starting to play out much like the rest of the country whether it’s corporate (NBA executives) or the employees (NBA players). The NBA started preparing for the long haul with around 100 of the league’s top executives reportedly taking 20 percent cuts in salary starting in late March.

Then the NBA and NBAPA came to an agreement to start withholding 25% of players’ salaries starting May 15. Not until recently, has the NBA owners started hitting the news cycle. This week, Steve Ballmer is enjoying the best of times finally securing the $400 million deal to buy the Forum. On the other side of the Staples Center hallway, the Lakers recently fell into let’s say awkward times.

The Los Angeles Lakers, ranking second behind the New York Knicks on the NBA’s richest franchise list, applied for and received $4.6 million in federal loan aid earmarked for small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic according to CNBC.

CNBC also reported that no other NBA team besides the Lakers received PPP loans, and was unaware of any other team applying for the assistance. Lake Show Life can basically guarantee that if the Clippers and Lakers make the Western Conference Finals, this will be brought up a time or two in a seven-game series. Much more on this later.

If one thought that the financial gossip and Lakers rumors was limited just to the city of Los Angeles, they would be dead wrong. It seems Shaquille O’Neal had something to say recently on his podcast “The Big Podcast with Shaq”.

O’Neal dropped a “Shaq Bomb” going on record stating that with NBA team owners suffering financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic, at least two ownership groups have put their clubs on the open market. Then goes further with a potential city one of those teams would be moving to.

"“I hear in the grapevine that there are a couple of teams for sale and one may be going to Vegas,” O’Neal said during a recent episode."

Las Vegas has become the new hotbed of multiple sports franchises the last couple of years. Franchises from multiple sports have pitched their respective tents and started business. The teams are listed below.

• The Vegas Golden Knights joined the NHL ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.
• The WNBA’s San Antonio Stars relocated to Las Vegas to become the Aces in 2018. 
• The Raiders will be playing their inaugural season in Las Vegas in 2020 after moving from Oakland assuming there is a NFL season.  
• The NBA already has a business partnership agreement for sports betting.

With the NBA’s strong presence in Vegas, where they host the Summer League along with the aforementioned situations. There is enough history to at least take a possible look at O’Neal’s statements about Vegas possibly receiving a franchise.

Shaquille O’Neal did not indicate which teams might be up for sale, but it is certainly possible the league would look kindly on a potential relocation if there is a great opportunity for growth potential and business opportunities (Don’t forget tax breaks!).

Lake Show Life is creating its own speculative portfolio of Lakers rumors that has spread across the NBA and even into Washington D.C.

Sadly, for fans and the NBA alike, we are not discussing the Washington Wizards about possibilities to land Bradley Beal. Read and figure out your own opinions.

First up, let’s discuss the Small Business Loan that the Los Angeles Lakers applied for.