Silver Bans Sterling For Life, Issues $2.5MM Fine
NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced a lifetime ban and a $2.5MM fine for Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The NBA’s investigation found that it was indeed Sterling expressing racially charged statements on a recording. Sterling has been fined the maximum amount allowable in the NBA’s constitution. Silver will urge the board of governors to force Sterling to sell the team, and the commissioner said he’ll “do everything in my power to ensure that happens.”
Sterling admitted that it was his voice on the recording, Silver said, asserting that the NBA has the authority, with a vote of three quarters of the league’s owners, to force Sterling to sell. The effort to force him out will begin immediately, according to the commissioner, and he expects to receive the support from owners necessary to remove the longtime Clippers boss.
Silver believes the players will be satisfied with the decision, adding that he’s had multiple conversations with Kevin Johnson, who’s acting as the union’s voice during the Sterling saga. The NBA is not considering letting any of the Clippers out of their contracts, according to Silver.
The key response may come from Clippers coach and executive Doc Rivers, who’s expressed uncertainty about whether he’d return to the team if Sterling were to stay as owner. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested earlier today that the Clippers players might follow his lead and ask for trades if Rivers were to leave.
Rumors have linked Magic Johnson to the team as a potential buyer, and Silver said today that Johnson is “always welcome as an owner in this league.” Johnson took to Twitter to express satisfaction with the NBA’s verdict.
The specter of a lawsuit from Sterling remains, and Silver said Sterling didn’t express remorse over his comments. Sterling, an attorney, is notoriously litigious, and there was speculation that the threat of a lawsuit would prompt Silver to opt for a light punishment.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images. Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, Chris Mannix of SI.com, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, and A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com provided detail via Twitter.
Clippers, Donald Sterling Rumors: Tuesday
With commissioner Adam Silver set to address Donald Sterling’s alleged racist comments in minutes, here’s the latest on the situation:
- A source tells Chris Mannix of SI.com that Sterling’s punishment will be “severe,” and while many team officials expect an indefinite suspension, at least, there’s still significant doubt about the NBA’s ability to force Sterling to sell, given the threat that he’d try to sue (Twitter links).
- Stuart Pfeifer, Ben Bolch and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times detail the exodus of sponsors from the Clippers. That might give Silver the means to come down harder on Sterling, attorney Irwin Raij, a sports business attorney of Foley & Lardner in New York, tells the Times.
- The Times report includes remarks from a Clippers player who wonders whether he could cite a “hostile work environment” as grounds to escape from his contract. The player declined to be identified because he said he and his teammates were told not to comment on the matter, Pfeifer, Bolch and Rainey write.
- Billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso is interested in buying the Clippers if they become available, according to Pfeifer, Bolch and Rainey, while sources tell Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison may also have interest.
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, whom the players union has asked to act as its voice in the Sterling saga, acknowledges says that the players believe he should no longer own the team, as Johnson writes on Facebook. The mayor nonetheless acknowledges the league might not have the power to strip the team from Sterling, though he calls for an indefinite suspension and the maximum possible fine.
- Hawks owner Bruce Levenson would vote to oust Sterling or force him to sell the team, as he told 92.9 The Game, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mavs owner Mark Cuban, meanwhile, is concerned about the “slippery slope” that might be created if the NBA were to remove an owner based his comments alone, notes Tim McMahon of ESPN.com.
Knicks Want To Hire Steve Kerr After First Round
12:24pm: Kerr’s timetable is different from that of the Knicks, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who hears from a source who says Kerr and Jackson still have “lots to explore organizationally” (Twitter links). That echoes Kerr’s comments about a desire for more discussions with the Zen Master.
10:43am: The Knicks are attempting to complete a deal that would make Steve Kerr the coach of the team after the first round of the playoffs, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. In team president Phil Jackson‘s plan, Kerr would leave his job as a TNT broadcaster after the first round is complete, thus making it easier for the network, but it remains to be seen whether Kerr is willing to go along at this point.
Kerr has been the front-runner for the job for at least a month, and while Kerr has been “inching closer” to the Knicks job, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, a source told Isola that a decision was not imminent. An earlier report indicated Kerr would have interest in talking to the Warriors if they wind up with a vacancy, but in spite of Golden State’s apparent interest in Kerr, the Knicks remain the favorite to land him, Stein writes, given his connection to Jackson. The former Suns GM counters widespread skepticism about Jackson’s chances for success in charge of the Knicks front office, believing that the Zen Master will succeed in New York, according to Stein.
Kerr reportedly has concerns about the Knicks’ inability to capitalize on their resources over the years, prompting a measured approach as he considers whether to join the team, even as he’s said that he would be “crazy not to look into” coaching the Knicks. Still, he told reporters this weekend that he and Jackson still had much to discuss, as Isola points out. Kerr and Jackson have both indicated that their conversations this weekend were the first they’d had about the job, which conflicts with a report from early last week that they were deep into discussions.
Bobcats Rumors: Afflalo, Nelson, McRoberts
The Bobcats have been eliminated from the playoffs, and soon the name “Bobcats” won’t exist around the NBA at all, with Charlotte set to announce the official changeover to the “Hornets” nickname. The team’s focus is squarely on its first season in teal-and-purple now that the significant step forward that 2013/14 represented for the club is done. Here’s the latest:
- Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson of the Magic will likely be among Charlotte’s trade targets, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, pointing to their ties to Bobcats coach Steve Clifford, who worked with them when he was an assistant coach in Orlando.
- Josh McRoberts remains undecided about his nearly $2.8MM player option and says he wants to remain in Charlotte long-term, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links), though Stein writes that he’s “widely expected” to decline it. Charlotte would “naturally” want to re-sign him in that case, Stein adds. Clifford expressed his support for McRoberts after Monday’s game, as Bonnell observes (on Twitter).
- Charlotte will probably target a dependable small forward in free agency or via trade, Stein writes.
Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Erman, Scalabrine
The consensus around the league is that it’s “very unlikely” that Mark Jackson will remain as coach of the Warriors next season unless he leads the team on a long playoff run, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. That’s consistent with the widely held belief that Jackson’s future with the team depends on the postseason. Still, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that Jackson’s relationship with co-owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers is fine. Here’s more from Golden State:
- The Warriors aren’t holding Jackson responsible for what Erman and Scalabrine did, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
Earlier reports:
- Former Warriors assistant Darren Erman has landed a job as director of NBA scouting for the Celtics, as Danny Ainge tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Clippers, among other teams, had been interested in him after his ouster from Golden State earlier this month.
- Lowe lauds Boston’s hiring of a keen basketball mind in Erman (via Twitter), but the timing of the news is odd, considering the revelations about Erman’s departure from Golden State in Broussard’s piece. Erman was secretly recording conversations between Warriors coaches and players, sources tell Broussard. It’s unclear what he did with the recordings, and Broussard’s sources aren’t sure whether he shared them with Warriors management and owners.
- Sources tell Broussard that Brian Scalabrine, who was reassigned in March from assistant coach to a job with the Warriors D-League team, exhibited a “consistent pattern of disrespect” for Jackson and the other coaches. At one point, Scalabrine went five weeks without speaking to Jackson, Broussard hears.
Wojnarowski’s Latest: Sterling, Rivers, Johnson
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has news on the Donald Sterling fiasco, with the league and the player’s union set to address the issue this afternoon. Let’s dive in:
- Sources tell Wojnarowski that Doc Rivers won’t return to the team next year if Sterling remains, suggesting that it would set off a player revolt that might end up with the team’s stars demanding trades.
- Several league officials, including owners and members of the Board of Governors, tell Wojnarowski that they believe the commissioner has been contemplating calling for a vote among owners to strip the franchise from Sterling and take the team under league control until it can be sold.
- A former Clippers official tells Wojnarowski that Sterling is enjoying the spotlight of the scandal, glad that the focus is off Rivers and the players and back on him. Sterling is likely to fight the NBA until the very end, the source tells Wojnarowski.
- Though Magic Johnson took to Twitter to deny Wojnarowski’s earlier report that he’s interested in buying the team, Johnson wants to be in a position to purchase the club if it becomes available, Wojnarowski asserts. Johnson and potential investors spent time on Monday investigating the possibility of buying the team, sources tell Wojnarowski.
- Sterling’s estranged wife, Rochelle, who often goes by Shelly, believes she can wind up with the Clippers, but Silver and the rest of the league owners aren’t amenable to that solution, sensing that the team must leave the family’s hands, Wojnarowski writes.
- When Sterling nearly blocked the J.J. Redick sign-and-trade last summer, people close to the owner believe that it was in part because Sterling worried that Redick’s four-year, $27.755MM deal was too much for a white player, Wojnarowski hears. Sterling believes that black players possess superior athleticism, strength, and talent, according to Wojnarowski.
Kings Intend To Retain Rudy Gay
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro says he didn’t trade for Rudy Gay just to have him around for this year, and he’ll continue to talk to the forward who’s undecided on a player option worth more than $19.3MM for 2014/15, as D’Alessandro tells Katie Cracchiolo of Kings.com. Gay has a chance to become a sought-after free agent this summer, but D’Alessandro apparently wants to ensure that he’s back one way or another.
The Octagon Sports client expressed profound indecisiveness nearly a month ago about his option, which would likely give him a greater salary for next season than he could receive on a new contract. Still, a fresh deal would no doubt allow Gay to lock in a greater amount over the long term, and it would give him freedom to pursue interest from rumored suitors like the Suns and other teams that could give him a better chance to win sooner than Sacramento can.
D’Alessandro says that he’s optimistic that Gay has enjoyed the Sacramento community, and Gay said in January that he was comfortable with his new home following the December trade that brought him from Toronto. The 27-year-old also expressed excitement about the on-court freedom coach Michael Malone has given him, and D’Alessandro is similarly high on what Gay has done for the team.
“We did our analysis of Rudy before we did our deal. Rudy is exactly what I expected, which has been nothing short of great,” D’Alessandro said. “We see him as a very consistent, top-level player.”
The Kings have about $47MM in commitments for next season, but that doesn’t include Gay or Isaiah Thomas, who’s set for restricted free agency. D’Alessandro said he and the team “just think the world of” Thomas, and that he’ll be talking to his reps at ASM Sports, too. New contracts for both would likely eat up most, if not all, of Sacramento’s cap flexibility, but if Gay opts out and the Kings re-sign him at a lower salary for next season, it’ll give the club more breathing room beneath the tax line. I took a look at Gay’s free agent stock last week.
Mateusz Ponitka Enters Draft
Belgian league shooting guard Mateusz Ponitka entered his name in this year’s draft prior to Sunday’s deadline, as he tells TVP Sport, a website based in his native Poland. Ponitka adds that he isn’t ruling out the possibility that he’ll withdraw before the June 16th cut-off date. Ponitka is the 77th-ranked prospect for 2014 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress board. Chad Ford of ESPN.com is less optimistic, slotting him 140th for 2015.
The 6’5″ 20-year-old put up 9.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game for Telenet BC Oostende. He improved his outside shot after back-to-back seasons of less than 30% shooting from beyond the arc, nailing 36.3% of his three-point attempts this season, and he had a strong performance at the Nike Hoop Summit this month, pouring in 17 points in 25 minutes of action.
Ponitka will be automatically draft-eligible in 2015 if he doesn’t stay in this year’s draft. Given his lack of playing time in Europe and his showing in the Hoop Summit, a showcase for this year’s international prospects and the top incoming collegiate freshmen, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to remain in the draft.
Clippers/Donald Sterling Rumors: Monday
NBA owners reportedly want Donald Sterling out, but USA Today’s Sam Amick casts the notion that the NBA will force Donald Sterling to sell the team as unlikely, given that the league’s constitution and bylaws don’t provide a mechanism for that to happen. A lengthy suspension is the most serious punishment rules allow commissioner Adam Silver to dole out, at least for now, with a $1MM fine also likely to come, as Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com detail. Still the member of the NBA’s Board of Governors who spoke to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports for the story we passed along earlier indicated that he’d be in favor of changing those rules to allow the league to get rid of Sterling. Here’s more on the Sterling saga, with the NBA set to address the matter in a press conference on Tuesday:
- There are some who believe that Sterling will attempt to pass ownership along to his wife and son-in-law, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That wouldn’t be drastic enough change to assuage the anger of Doc Rivers and the Clippers players, Stein and Shelburne hear.
- Rivers has raised the idea that he might leave the Clippers after the season if Sterling is still in place, but since he’s under contract, it wouldn’t be easy for him to do so, Kyler asserts, suggesting that Chris Paul and Blake Griffin would have similar problems exiting the team.
- One agent tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News that Sterling’s remarks will have a “gigantic impact” on the willingness of free agents to sign with the Clippers, though another says it’s too early to judge the effect, and that it could be a “non-issue.”
- Still, the NBA knows many coaches and players would be hesitant to work for the Clippers in light of this weekend’s revelations, and that’s one reason why the league is indeed trying to push Sterling out, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group asserts (All Twitter links). The idea would be to mount enough pressure on Sterling to prompt him to sell voluntarily, rather than forcing him out, Kawakami adds (on Twitter). There are “less than 1 in 100 million odds” that the league will attempt to force Sterling to sell, a source tells Stein and Shelburne.
Latest On Jazz Coaching Search
APRIL 28TH: Genessy has received further indication that Boylen is the lead candidate for the job (Twitter link). That’s in spite of a comment from Jazz president Randy Rigby last week asserting that the club had yet to identify any potential replacements for Corbin.
APRIL 23RD, 4:21pm: Hawks assistant Quin Snyder is also a candidate, Stein hears (Twitter link). Snyder worked with Lindsey in San Antonio, as Stein points out via Twitter, noting that he also spent time in Russia as an assistant under Messina.
TUESDAY, 1:59pm: Current Jazz assistant Brad Jones has also drawn mention as a potential candidate, Stein writes, though the ESPN scribe casts Boylen and Messina as the favorites. Still, neither Boylen nor Messina is likely to become available until June as their respective teams play on in the postseason. If Lindsey decides Boylen is the right choice, he wouldn’t allow the sentiment of locals turned off by Boylen’s poor performance at the University of Utah to dissuade him, according to Stein.
9:30am: Rumored candidate Jim Boylen is indeed in the running for the Jazz head coaching job, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, and the Spurs assistant is at the top of the list, a source tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio-Express News. The Jazz will also consider longtime European coach and former Lakers assistant Ettore Messina, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Jazz are perhaps more open to hiring a European coach than any other NBA team, a source tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). The name of Bulls lead assistant coach Adrian Griffin has come up in regard to the Jazz as well as other teams of late, Genessy tweets. Griffin was a candidate for the Sixers and Pistons last year and the Blazers in 2012.
Utah GM Dennis Lindsey and assistant GM Justin Zanik are well-known fans of Messina, who’s apparently itching to come to the NBA, Stein says in a pair of tweets. Messina is the coach of CSKA Moscow, though his roots are in Italy, where he coached for more than a decade and a half and established himself as one of Europe’s top sideline bosses. Critics say he’s too tough on players to succeed as an NBA coach, though proponents point to his year of experience as an assistant in the NBA with the Lakers 2011/12, when the team had plenty of title-winning veterans, to suggest that he can succeed, Stein tweets. Messina was a candidate for the Hawks head coaching job last year.
Boylen’s connection to Lindsey dates back to their time together in the Rockets organization. They share the same agent and have a close relationship, Jones tweets, though Boylen’s time as coach of the University of Utah, a tenure marked by back-to-back losing seasons in his final two years, would be viewed as a negative, according to Jones, as well as Stein (Twitter link).
It’s unlikely that the Jazz’s next coach will be a retread, Jones says via Twitter. Lindsey insisted that the team hadn’t considered any candidates before announcing Monday that Tyrone Corbin wouldn’t be back, as fellow Tribune scribe Aaron Falk observes. Lindsey didn’t rule out the idea of Corbin remaining with the organization in a different capacity, Jones tweets.