The Detroit Free Press is reporting that four people or groups of people have emerged as possible future owners of the Pistons.
The Free Press has identified four potential buyers of the Pistons: [Tom] Gores, who grew up near Flint, graduated from Michigan State, lives in Los Angeles and maintains a residence in Grosse Ile; Mike Ilitch, who owns the Red Wings and Tigers and who announced his intentions last week; George Postolos, a former NBA and Houston Rockets executive who e-mailed last week that he was "bullish" on the Pistons and PS&E, and a foreign group based in Dubai, which has interest in other franchises, too. Postolos and the Dubai group met with the Pistons last week.
As the quote says, Postolos and the group from Dubai have already met with the Pistons, and it has been reported that a group representing Gores met a second time with officials from Palace Sports & Entertainment on Wednesday.
It doesn't appear that any of the four potential buyers has emerged as a favorite to own the team yet, but things are definitely moving quicker this month. Just a couple weeks ago it seemed like there was very little interest in the team, but as soon as Mike Ilitch announced his intentions, business has picked up. Now there are four potential known buyers, confirming the statement released by the Pistons and Citigroup last week.
"The Davidson family and its constituents, working together with Palace Sports & Entertainment (PSE) management and Citi Private Bank, have instituted a robust process that is well under way. We are extremely pleased at the level of serious interest from multiple potential buyers in purchasing the Pistons and PSE. We will proceed with the best interests of the Davidson family, the Pistons, and PSE. At this time, we plan no further comment."
The original hope was for the Pistons to be sold before the start of the season, and although that would require things to happen very quickly over the next month or two, it's certainly possible that things could get moving quickly enough for that to happen. It's not necessarily likely, but with the way this process has picked up speed lately, I wouldn't rule it out.