Forbes is out with their annual list of most valuable NBA franchises. For the fourth consecutive year, the New York Knicks top the list with a value of $613M. The Los Angeles Lakers are next on the list at $584M and the Chicago Bulls round out the top 3 at $504M. All three teams reside in top U.S. media markets so it should come as no surprise that these are the most valuable franchises. Market size has a big impact on franchise value because of the money made from local media rights deals.

What I like to look for on this annual list is which teams are increasing in value the most. Most pro sports team owners operate at a break even or loss every year and where they make their money is off of the value of their franchise increasing.

The Portland Trail Blazers have increased in value by 21% over the past year - more than any other NBA franchise. The Trail Blazers are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who purchased the Trail Blazers in 1988 for $70M. The team has added marquee players such as Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and even Spanish star Rudy Fernandez to their roster in recent years increasing the value of the team. The Trail Blazers are ranked 20th out of 30 teams in value, but because the team resides in the 23rd largest media market in the country, they'll never be worth as much as teams like the Knicks, Lakers or Bulls.

The World Champion Boston Celtics saw the second largest increase in franchise value over the past year at 14%. That's what a title and addding marquee players such as Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will do to a team's value.

Think LeBron James is valuable? Try this on for size. Cleveland, which is a mid-sized media market, is the 5th most valuable franchise in the NBA at $477M. Gilbert paid $375M for the Cavaliers in 2005 and has seen his franchise increase in value by $102M since then. That's a nice return on your investment in just three years.

You can bet the franchise value will plummet if King James leaves the Cavs as a free agent in 2010...........and James will increase some other team's franchise value in the process.

How about Clay Bennett and his group in Oklahoma City? They purchased the Seattle Sonics in 2006 from Howard Schultz for a reported $350M. Bennett's group then paid the city of Seattle $75M to get out of the Key Arena lease and head to Oklahoma City - that's $425M by my math. Today the team is worth $300M according to Forbes. Bennett better sell a lot of tickets, sponsorships and hot dogs in Oklahoma City to make up for the $125M in lost franchise value (I know, I know, franchise values mean little until the day the team is put on the market, which in Oklahoma City won't be any time soon. I get that Bennett is looking at this as a long term investment).