Shaquille O’Neal interested in buying Phoenix Suns with Jeff Bezos
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If you can’t beat them, join them.
Basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal has expressed an interest in partnering with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in a possible bid to buy one of his former teams.
O'Neal played for the Phoenix Suns from 2008-09. Speaking to TMZ Sports, he said he was interested in buying Robert Sarver's stake in the organization after news broke that the owner was selling the team, but said he doesn't think he could compete with an offer from Bezos.
"I was interested, but when big man JB said he was interested, nobody can compete with big man JB. ... Once Jeff Bezos put his name in the hat, all you others just close your checkbook and go home," O'Neal said.
Though O'Neal said he has no desire to compete against Bezos, he iterated that he is indeed open to partnering with him.
"If he wants me on board, I would gladly like to talk to him," O'Neal said, adding, “Let me tell you something, I'm scared of Big Man JB. Shaq O'Neal is scared of Big Man JB!"
Sarver announced last month that he had begun the process of selling the Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, both of which he has owned since 2004. The announcement came shortly after Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10 million dollars following an investigation that found the team's owner "engaged in conduct that clearly violated common workplace standards."
A report by ESPN predicts that the price to buy the Suns could be upward of $3 billion dollars. Bezos is currently ranked as the third-richest person in the world by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $136.4 billion. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison have also been speculated as potential buyers.