Using the principle that whatever Bob Johnson says is the opposite of the truth, his stark declaration to the AP on the Monday that the team was not for sale tells me that it is. Or rather that Johnson would love sell if he could just find a buyer.

But as the Memphis Grizzlies have demonstrated for the past, oh, two or three years, the marketplace for losing, small market NBA teams has roughly zero buyers. Sound familiar? Here is how we can solve Charlotte’s Bob Johnson problem.

Federal bailout.

Yes, when the market for subprime mortgages and complex corporate paper dried up — zero buyers — the feds stepped up to fill the void. With trillions of dollars. All we need to fix the QC’s NBA franchise is maybe $275m., $300m. tops if Johnson insists on getting his original investment back. Chump change. The feds could then run the franchise — even rename it. The Charlotte Mail Carriers anyone? Ladies and gentlemen, your Charlotte Bureaucrats! (Revenue Agents is probably unmarketable.)

I’m telling you, this is gonna look like a great idea when Johnson and the NBA come sniffing around the city of Charlotte for a bailout.