Knicks worth more than the Lakers, Forbes says

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Why is this man smiling?

List-happy Forbes magazine came out with its latest tally today, and according to its calculations the New York Knicks are the most valuable franchise in the NBA and are worth $613 million. And Jerry Buss’ Lakers are No. 2 on the list at $584 million.

The rest of the top 10 valuations: Chicago Bulls ($504 million), Detroit Pistons ($480 million), Cleveland Cavaliers ($477 million), Houston Rockets ($469 million), Dallas Mavericks ($466 million), Phoenix Suns ($452 million), Boston Celtics ($447 million) and San Antonio Spurs ($415 million).

The magazine also says that the Bulls enjoyed the biggest operating profit in the last year at $55.4 million, with the Lakers again being the runner-up with an operating profit of $47.9 million (on $191 million in revenues).

Forbes claims all top 10 NBA teams are profitable, with one exception -- Mark Cuban’s Mavericks posted an operating loss of $13.6 million.

-- Barry Stavro