Unless…
That said, could Larry Fitzgerald owning a small piece in the Phoenix Suns now, potentially be the key to LeBron James eventually buying the majority of the franchise?
Yes, that outcome may seem pretty far-fetched, but there is one true fact that is indisputable: LeBron eventually wants to buy a professional basketball franchise.
Looking at franchise’s he has played for and thus intimately connected to, he’s probably not going to be able to buy the Lakers because of the Buss family.
However, Micky Arison is the current owner of the Miami Heat and is 70-years-old.
If LeBron remains a player for another 4-5 years, there potentially could be a lining up of timing in Arison’s desire to sell and LeBron’s ability to buy.
Phoenix Suns
Although as of 2019, the Heat were valued at $1.75 billion, so if by some chance the Heat and Phoenix Suns became available at the same time, LeBron might have interest in saving a bit of money off the top of a purchase, re-investing it into a franchise for greater profit down the line.
Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is only 58-years-old. One might presume that he isn’t going to sell his franchise anytime soon based on his still generally young-ish, age – then again, Robert Sarver is only 59-years-old.
But if there is a chance that Sarver does decide to sell the team in the near future and get away from it all to spend the rest of his life on an island with his grand kids (or focus his time on his Spanish soccer franchise RCD Mallorca), then Larry Fitzgerald’s presence with the franchise could be the connection needed to get LeBron’s attention to purchase the Phoenix Suns.
While Fitzgerald wouldn’t necessarily be fighting for the top spot in the franchise, the respect that he brings as a then-former professional athlete himself, plus his own personal sales pitch as a presumably life-long Valley resident, along with his likely desire after the sale by Sarver and company to still own a stake in the franchise with James, could all be a match made in Heaven.
Larry Fitzgerald’s purchasing of a minority stake in the Phoenix Suns means absolutely nothing at the moment. He still has a professional football career to worry about and whatever percentage of the franchise he now owns, it is pennies compared to Robert Sarver’s share.
Whether the purchase is nothing more than just a long time coming, or a diversification of his own investment portfolio, in the end unless he is somehow able to eventually wrangle LeBron James into buying the majority stake, Fitz’s recent investment does not mean a whole lot of anything.