Utah Jazz Ownership Restructured and Placed in Family Trust

[The Midnight]

Again, I don't have any problem with the trust, with the board, with putting family on the board. It's smart. It's what I would do.

The problem I have, is the press conference, the tears, the sobbing over keeping the Jazz in Utah...it's all bull ****. It's nothing more than a slimy family, once again, trying to get people to stroke their ego.

It's pathetic.

Hmm.. dunno about that, Gail Miller seemed pretty genuine... she was also quoted as saying they needed NBA's approval for this, not sure they needed the NBA involved if they wanted to minimize tax exposure? Also why make a song and dance about it? Gail doesn't strike me as a show off, 'look at me' type personality?

 

[Witty Username]

Gail doesn't strike me as a show off, 'look at me' type personality?

She's not a Kardashian by any means, but she plays her cards

 

[silesian]

It reminds me of the Green Bay Packers being publicly owned. Instead of an owner, we'll have a board of directors that make overall decisions and hire the basketball people. As a lifelong Packers fan, I wholeheartedly support this ownership structure for a small market franchise like the Jazz. My support of the Miller family is at an all-time high right now.

I just hope that the BOD has given clear decision rights to Lindsay so that he does not have to "sell" them on each personnel move. Give him the reigns and hold him accountable for results. I suspect this is the case.

In the past, I believe personnel moves were cleared in discussions with LHM. This could be a better outcome.

 

[JAZZGASM]

Hmm.. dunno about that, Gail Miller seemed pretty genuine... she was also quoted as saying they needed NBA's approval for this, not sure they needed the NBA involved if they wanted to minimize tax exposure? Also why make a song and dance about it? Gail doesn't strike me as a show off, 'look at me' type personality?

It is a change in ownership from the Millers to a Trust. Any time you change owners you would need approval of the NBA.

 

[green]

Another thing, ownership hasn't changed at all. It's still owned by the Millers. The only thing that has changed is the tax liability.

That's it. The Jazz can just as easily be sold and moved and you could argue it's easier to sell the Jazz now.

This is all a big PR stunt to sell more cars and get more praise heaped on the Millers. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Deleted member 95]

Ha ha. So, the trust will be lead by Miller family members? Another cash grab by the Millers. What a crock. This irks me big time.

Look, I'm ok with the Millers making money off the Jazz. They have every right to do so.

BUT, to sit there and lie to us about all of this...it's embarrassing and shows just how slimy this family is.

"look how great we are, all profits back into the Jazz, perpetual ownership, blah, blah, blah..."

Here is the reality:

By doing the trust, the Millers save hundreds of millions of tax dollars, passing that cost onto the middle class.

By having the board be all Miller family members, they can pay themselves a handsome salary, thereby profiting off the Jazz. Again, there is nothing wrong with all this, but to do this type of press conference, and pretend to do it for the state of Utah, and to put out all the profits bull ****...again, shows how slimy this family is.

Be honest. Set up the trust, and do it quietly, and go on with life. But to use this to somehow proclaim how wonderful you are...slimy.

You really think they can do something like that quietly? That had to do it publicly, and if they tried to do it discreetly it would have raised more eyebrows. I don't think they did this solely for Utah or fans obviously but it does help keep the franchise out of one single persons hands down the road which would create more likelihood of relocation.

Sent from my XT1575 using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[colton]

Another thing, ownership hasn't changed at all. It's still owned by the Millers. The only thing that has changed is the tax liability.

That's it. The Jazz can just as easily be sold and moved and you could argue it's easier to sell the Jazz now.

Not if not selling is a condition of the trust, which it seems like it is.

This is all a big PR stunt to sell more cars and get more praise heaped on the Millers. Nothing more, nothing less.

Wow, jaded much?

 

[JAZZGASM]

Not if not selling is a condition of the trust, which it seems like it is.



Wow, jaded much?

There is no way the NBA or any franchiser would allow a trust or any other mechanism to be put in place to restrict the sale of a franchise other than by the franchiser. The real purpose of this, beyond estate taxes, is to consolidate control to a board of trustees. Once the team passes to multiple family members it would be a mess.

You really think a family business would set up a trust that would devalue the investment (if it can't be sold, or has major restrictions, it will largely devalue the team)?

 

[colton]

There is no way the NBA or any franchiser would allow a trust or any other mechanism to be put in place to restrict the sale of a franchise other than by the franchiser. The real purpose of this, beyond estate taxes, is to consolidate control to a board of trustees. Once the team passes to multiple family members it would be a mess.

You really think a family business would set up a trust that would devalue the investment (if it can't be sold, or has major restrictions, it will largely devalue the team)?

I'm certain there are restrictions on selling the team as a result of this.

Here's some commentary: https://purpleandblues.com/2017/01/23/utah-jazz-miller-family-legacy-trust/

That said, the headline here for fans is that the team will remain in Utah. Any future decisions on the team regarding ownership will likely require significant family approval and the Millers seem intent to keep the club right where it is.

While it’s not entirely the same as the Miller’s legacy trust, the Buss Family’s two-thirds stake in the Los Angeles Lakers is also a trust. In their situation, there are multiple factors that would limit the family’s ability to sell their stake. For example, no individual family member can sell their share of ownership and any sale of the stake in its entirety would require approval by a 4-of-6 majority of the late Dr. Jerry Buss’ adult children.

By all reports (including on nba.com) the new Jazz family trust is without precedent. So it's got to be more restrictive than the Lakers...and even the Lakers have restrictions as you can see.

As to whether that devalues the investment, I don't think so. If they do get approval for a sale at some point in the future, the trust restrictions wouldn't apply to the new owner. So they wouldn't impact what the new owner is willing to pay.