Will Ellison get last laugh?

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Snubbed in his bid to buy the Warriors when the franchise was sold to Peter Guber and Joe Lacob in July for $450 million, Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has now set his sights on buying the New Orleans Hornets.

Forbes reported Wednesday that Ellison, who is worth $27 billion, could buy the Hornets and move the team to San Jose. One reason why Golden State sold for a record NBA price is that the new owners could get from $100-$150 million from an owner bringing a second team to the Bay Area, a source told Forbes.

The Hornets, who were bought by the league for $310 million last month, have a lease at the New Orleans Arena that expires in 2014. The franchise is enduring big losses and low attendance and could be moved to a market with better demographics and more corporate sponsors.

If Ellison moved the team to San Jose, he could immediately share a building with the Sharks. San Jose would also offer plenty of sponsorship revenue and an increased TV market that would boost media revenue.

Posted By: Rusty Simmons (Email, Twitter) | January 05 2011 at 05:14 PM