Multiple sources are reporting the Warriors are for sale. If so, owner Chris Cohan figures to perhaps triple the investments he made in 1992 and '94.

Cohan initially purchased a 25 percent interest in the team from Jim Fitzgerald and Dan Finnane in 1992 for $21 million. Two years later, after suing to earn the right to buy the remaining 75 percent of the club, he outbid a group of Fitzgerald and Finnane's other minority partners, paying an additional $95 million. The latter purchase effectively established a $119 million total value on the franchise.

Now almost 15 years later, Forbes Magazine estimates the Warriors to be worth $335 million.

One reason the value has almost tripled is Cohan's willingness to underwrite a refurbishing of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena at an estimated cost of $100 million and build a team office/practice facility in downtown Oakland for about $7 million. The arena is now known at Oracle Arena.

Not coincidentally, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is considered to be one of the potential buyers. No other names have surfaced in what figures to be a time-consuming process.

Under Cohan, the Warriors have failed to make the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons, although the team's fan base has remained remarkably loyal. Despite having the seventh-losingest record in the NBA last season, the team had the ninth-highest average attendance (17,942), a mark that represents 92.8 percent of the arena's capacity.

Cohan hasn't gone public with his intention to sell, but sources have told Bay Area newspapers his decision to "cash out" is due to "money problems."

The 59-year-old's regime as Warriors owner has been marked by a hands-off approach to the day-to-day basketball operations. His right-hand man, team president Bob Rowell, has the final say in the franchise's basketball decisions these days in consultation with general manager Larry Riley and coach Don Nelson.

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