Team Couldn’t Veto Move Into the Pond

Although Anaheim rests within the territory of the Lakers and Clippers, defined by the NBA as an area within 75 miles of Los Angeles, neither team could unilaterally veto the proposed move of another franchise to Anaheim, according to deputy commissioner Russ Granik. In addition, Granik said, any relocation fee would be assessed by the NBA and shared by all its franchises, not just the Lakers and Clippers.

Laker spokesman Bob Steiner said he could not comment on the hypothetical situation of whether Buss would oppose an NBA team in Anaheim.

A majority vote of NBA teams would constitute approval, Granik said, after a recommendation from the league’s relocation committee.

The committee, according to the NBA constitution, would be asked to evaluate “the ability of the proposed new location to support another team” based upon these criteria:

1) “projected support of the . . . team by fans, telecasters and sponsors”

2) “existing and projected population, income levels and age distribution”

3) “existing and projected markets for radio, broadcast television, cable television, and other forms of audio-visual transmission of . . . games”

4) “existing and projected business environment”

5) “the size, quality and location of the arena in which the [team] proposes to play its home games”

6) “the presence, history and popularity in the proposed new location of other professional sports teams and other forms of entertainment”