The NBA is weighing whether to buy the New Orleans Hornets from longtime owner George Shinn to have greater control over the permanent sale of the franchise, according to sources with knowledge of the league's thinking. Two sources likened the NBA's potential involvement to Major League Baseball's purchase of the Montreal Expos before the team was ultimately sold and moved to the nation's capital as the Washington Nationals in 2005. It's believed, though, that the NBA's intent -- if it goes through with buying the Hornets -- would be to try to secure a buyer willing and able to keep the franchise in New Orleans now that Shinn's anticipated sale to minority partner Gary Chouest has apparently collapsed. The New Orleans Times-Picayune, after ESPN.com's initial report about the possibility of the Hornets becoming the first franchise owned and operated by the league, quoted sources on its website Friday night saying that Chouest no longer thinks he can devote the time needed to run an NBA team as well as his private business. The league office and the Hornets declined requests from comment Friday from ESPN.com. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5881253
