Getty ImagesWhen Saints owner Tom Benson bought the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets, we joked that Saints coach Sean Payton could spend his one-year suspension working for the team.
As it turns out, Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis will spend his half-year suspension doing just that.
Mike Triplett of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Loomis “likely” will oversee basketball operations for the Hornets.
It also looks like Loomis may have some oversight in both capacities, with Dennis Lauscha reportedly taking an expanded role with the Saints. Lauscha, previously executive vice president and chief financial officer, will become president of the Saints. Lauscha also is expected to have a “major role” with the Hornets.
At a Friday meeting to discuss the coming changes, owner Tom Benson also disputed a Times-Picayune report that his granddaughter, Rita Benson LeBlanc, had been placed on administrative leave for three months. “You know, Rita took a couple months vacation there, and people got the wrong impression,” Benson said. “We’re not reducing her in any kind of way. You’re looking at the whole organization, and you can see she’s right there.
“And as we’ve taken on some of these outside activities, I told Rita I want her to get more involved in them, even if it took away some time here [with the Saints], and leaning on Dennis a little more.”
It looks like the Saints will be leaning on Dennis even more, and that the Hornets will be leaning on Loomis, specifically during the eight games when he isn’t allowed to be working for the Saints.
Channel Finder
Bounties come to the NBA. Keep your head on a swivel Lebron…..
I reckon Kobe will think twice of coming to the rim next season!!!
How good of an idea is it to give a football guy say in the basketball operations?
So what your saying is… All teams playing the Hornets need to watch their ACL’s?
Would you trust Tom Benson with your children?
I hope the Golden State Warriors do something similar with the Dodgers seeing as how Joe Lacob owns major stakes in both franchises. I really hope he takes the winning ways of the Warriors to the Los Angeles Dodgers! That would help my SF Giants a lot in that division…
@vahawker…
It beats letting a fantasy football guy get involved in football operations…just ask Snyder and Cerratto.
This is like making your o-line coach a defensive coordinator.
What happens if Mickey Loomis and Tom Benson get Eric Gordon top deal done before they get Drew Brees deal done? The media would have a field day with that story.
Metta World Peace would be a perfect fit for Hornets.
I guess we’ll be seeing NBA players wearing helmets and pads when playing the Hornets.
Godell only punished the fans. Loomis with Hornets, Payton in the media, Vilma with money from Roger’s personal savings account…….
In other news, David Stern is investigating the Hornets for a recently started bounty program.
I didn’t think my disgust for Benson & Co could be greater. I was wrong.
Now hopefully they’ll change the team name, so that Charlotte can forget about their sad NBA history.
Wait, whaddya mean Charlotte has another NBA franchise?! Since when!?
and he can hire Sean Payton to coach for a year – BRILLIANT!
Don’t speak too loud in the owners box,someone might be listening
Well, that’s good. He probably won’t have to worry about the Saints winning many games anyway and won’t be needed till they’re picking in the top ten of 2013 NFL draft.
As a Viking fan its amazing that I somehow feel sorry for true Saints fans, not the A-hole’s though they deserve it. But those guys in that area been through enough and its not their fault how shady this whole turned out. Why couldn’t all this happen to Green Bay and their pompous fan base?
I also hear Mickey Loomis is going to star in Scream 5 as Billy’s long lost father out for revenge against Sidney Prescott!!!
Thought it was against NFL rules to own franchises of two different sports in the same town??? Wasn’t there a recent new owner who had to pledge to give up a hockey or BB franchise?
So the owner can’t pay him for working for the Saints, but he can pay him for working for the Hornets? Really? So much for the NFL’s ‘suspension.’
Next up, Sean Payton gets paid $6 million to polish Tom Benson’s shoes and feed his dog. What a fraud.
New Hornets HC: Sean Payton
Goodell somehow will have a problem with this…
“How good of an idea is it to give a football guy say in the basketball operations?”
At least, it’s sports. In Dallas, an oil man has final say in football operations.
You guys are missing it, they’ve swapped positions, means Payton talks to the other guy and tells him what to do with the Saints and the other guy tells him what to do with the basketball team. Purportedly while talking to his boss about the basketball team. Payton still runs the Saints through this other guy who is gonna be President. Duh. 3rd grade corporate class
So Benson’s bending over backward to ensure the guys who ran a bounty scheme behind his back are accommodated during their suspensions. But he won’t work out a deal with the top-flight quarterback that made his “Ain’ts” a team to be reckoned with?
I don’t get it.
It isn’t that big of a deal because Loomis is, and never has been, a football guy. He is a manager, he is a business mind and let’s his scouting and coaches do most of the personnel decisions. Business in one sport translates to another, same contracts and salary cap issues.
@nineroutsider
I dont think Lacob owns the Dodgers. Peter Guber does.
Yep, these “punishments” Goodell handed down are really working out well.
Loomis spends a few weeks getting paid like a champ and working for the NBA and Payton runs around the French Quarter playing music with Jimmy Buffett and Warren Haynes, and coaching his son’s jr. high school football team.
Now that we know that Loomis is/has been involved with the Hornets organization for a while now, we have yet another reason to know while the Brees contract has been on the backburner.
By the way, about the contract, Drew’s agent, Tom Condon, is a very tough agent, and is likely the reason that Payton Manning’s contract crippled the Colts. Loomis has Condon and Brees over a barrel with the franchise tag. He has NO REASON to deal with Condon until the franchise due date is near. Until then, Condon will simply try to extort as much money as he can from the Saints. Loomis knows Condon won’t get “serious” about being reasonable until his client is faced with taking the franchise tag or sitting out.
Loomis knows Condon is a hardball type of guy, and one of the best techniques you can play with that type of person is to put them over a barrel and not communicate with them. He’ll be a lot more willing to negotiate when its 3 days or so from accepting a franchise tag contract. Loomis is making the choice crystal clear: accept a reasonable contract, lose money by signing the franchise tag, sit out a year (which is $16-$20 million that Brees would not likely make back up over the life of his NFL career).
I’m a Saints fan, but I’m not “sad” for Brees or that he is having trouble extorting the Saints.
Bounty system will start for NBA.
while Loomis is suspended for half of season, he will be getting paid overseeing Hornets which works out great…Goodell won’t be happy with that concept
So to clarify, Loomis doesn’t follow his bosses directions, he lies directly to his boss, and he helps completely embarrass the company, so the boss gives him a promotion? How do I get a job working for Benson?
To become a majority owner of an NFL franchise you can’t own another major sports franchise (including an MLB, NBA or NHL team.)
Drew Brees wants an explanation. Sorry…had to…
Wonder if Vilma can play point guard?
vahawker says:
May 20, 2012 1:26 PM
How good of an idea is it to give a football guy say in the basketball operations?
__________________________
Loomis is not that much of a football guy to begin with he is primarily a cap guru. Sean Payton is the primary football guy here. Just as Dell Demps, one of the brightest young GM’s in the NBA, will have the primary personnel say with the Hornets.
Loomis is a sports business/finance guy who listens to his scouts and coaches for input. The formula worked well with the Saints it should work for the Hornets but an important thing to remember when talking Hornets they only have one direction to go and that’s up.
Paul Allen has owned the Portland Trail Blazers longer than he has owned the Seattle Seahawks.
Every NFL rule is amendable in the interests of revenue.
hater’s go to bed and mind your own business,
Loomis has to be covering for Benson with bountygate or else he would have been fired for not following the owner’s instructions. Also there is no doubt in my mind that the Brees contract will get done, but it shows a total lack of respect for Brees to take this long. And Brees should get a new agent, one that cares about him and not the money he will make off of Drew.
I have no problem with it.
The GM was suspended from his job, so he found a temporary position with another company.
The HC was suspended so he will try to get some media/TV work.
Are they suppossed sit home on house arrest and go bankrupt b/c they are on suspension?
Loomis will work for both the Saints and Hornets. Payton will work for another Benson company. Vilma received a million dollar bonus right before he was suspended. The only thing left is the indictments for the eavsdropping thing with Loomis. No Saints personnel will be indicted.
58mam says:May 20, 2012 5:45 PM
Loomis has to be covering for Benson with bountygate or else he would have been fired for not following the owner’s instructions.
—————————-
Or maybe Benson knows that the Goodell’s allegations are exaggerated.
Based upon the success of Jimmy Graham , Benson has brilliantly placed Loomis in a position to discover future talent for the organization …. Love it
@ genericuser,
Great post! Very logical.
My team wouldn’t even sign a Condon client until Josh’s little pet Brandon Lloyd became available. That’s EIGHT YEARS…no Condon clients.
I’m a “back in the day” fan so I remember the two first “power agents” Argovitz and Slusher. Condon makes them look like amateurs.
The joke just continues.
Loomis is the man!
Circumventing the intent, the spirit if you will, of the penalty.
The NFL has got to love that.
This NO club is dirty.
Breaking News!
Meta World Peace to join NO in 2013
ESPN has already gotten John Barr a hotel room for the next month to find more lies.
corvusrex96 says:
May 20, 2012 7:21 PM
I have no problem with it.
The GM was suspended from his job, so he found a temporary position with another company.
The HC was suspended so he will try to get some media/TV work.
Are they suppossed sit home on house arrest and go bankrupt b/c they are on suspension?
_____________________
No, they are supposed to be judged by a bunch of internet tough guys sitting behind the safety of the anonymity of a keyboard where they can be criticized and held to standards that the individual would never dream of holding to themselves.
Making it worse – 90% of the people making judgment are doing so based on a small % of the facts. They are only reading headlines and taking the opinions of somone else for themselves. It’s particuarly amplified because it’s happening to another team. If this were happening to Green Bay, Packer fans would be outraged while Saint fans would be piling it on.
However, Saints fans will not be as quick to judge now that they have been the unfair target.
Word of advice to all fans – just wait until Goodell puts your team in his cross hairs, you will understand then.
fsf7 says:May 21, 2012 9:42 AM
Word of advice to all fans – just wait until Goodell puts your team in his cross hairs, you will understand then.
——————————————————
Goodell did not put the Saints in his crosshairs, the Saints put themselves in his crosshairs….
How much more can Benson reward Loomis and Vitt? What a joke.