Los Angeles Clippers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Sterling, Cavs, Brown, Rockets

May 11th, 2014 at 10:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Donald Sterling’s sit down with Anderson Cooper airs on CNN tomorrow night, but Charles Barkley won’t be among those watching. “We got to work tomorrow night so we don’t have to watch that junk,” the Hall of Famer told his Inside The NBA cohorts as they came back from commercial, as noted by Nina Mandell of USA Today. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..

LeBron James and other NBA players are concerned about Shelly Sterling taking control of the Clippers, but a statement released this evening by NBA spokesman Mike Bass could put those worries to bed. “Under the NBA Constitution, if a controlling owner’s interest is terminated by a 3/4 vote, all other team owners’ interests are automatically terminated as well. It doesn’t matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team,” the statement read (Howard Beck of Bleacher Report on Twitter).
Shelly Sterling’s attorney released a statement of his own to reporters, including Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
Sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert will support whatever decision the team’s next GM makes regarding Mike Brown. So, it appears the coach’s fate is in the hands of David Griffin, who’s expected to have the interim tag removed from his GM title soon. People around the league are split on whether Griffin would retain Brown, according to Amico.
Kostas Papanikolaou, whose NBA rights are owned by the Rockets, says he’s in no rush to make the leap over. “Nothing changed in my thoughts about the NBA. If I get a good chance, I will go. However, I am new in this team [FC Barcelona Regal], they have treated me with respect and I only think about Barcelona. A team that helps me evolve my game and be better. So, I don’t know what will happen, if I will end up in the NBA this summer or the next one,” the Euroleague standout told Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Rumors: Van Gundy, Lakers, Clippers

May 11th, 2014 at 6:41pm CST by Zachary Links

It wasn’t long ago that the Kings appeared to be Seattle-bound, but owner Vivek Ranadive‘s group brought that talk to a definitive end. This weekend it was reported that the Kings finalized a 35-year lease agreement to build a new arena in Sacramento. The measure still needs to be approved by the city council, but there’s no indication that it won’t go through. Here’s tonight’s glance at the Pacific Division..

Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News feels that Stan Van Gundy is the current frontrunner for the Warriors‘ head coaching job among the known candidates out there. However, he adds that there could be under-the-radar names who are currently employed and therefore cannot publicly discuss their interest in the gig.
Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com rounds up the Lakers‘ quest for a new coach, and surmises that the candidate they decide to pursue will be heavily affected by their position in the lottery.
Shelly Sterling‘s resistance to surrender ownership of the Clippers means she’ll likely be in control of the team for the foreseeable future, opines Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Any ousting process could take over a year, says Mannix, who also adds the NBA isn’t buying her claimed outrage at her husband’s comments (all Twitter links).
LeBron James, meanwhile, doesn’t want to see anyone with the Sterling surname involved in the Clippers, writes Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.
At this point, the over/under on the number of years it will take the NBA to excise the Sterlings from the Clippers is around two, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Yesterday, we rounded up news on the Lakers and Clippers.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Hollins, Nuggets, Butler

May 11th, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Eddie Scarito

Lionel Hollins will interview with the Warriors for their head coaching position, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The interview will take place at the Chicago pre-draft combine that starts Thursday, according to the article. This confirms an earlier report made by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

LA Notes: Rivers, Parsons, Lakers

May 10th, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Charlie Adams

Clippers coach Doc Rivers spoke with Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman and discussed, among other topics, the appointment of Dick Parsons as the team’s interim CEO. “I don’t know Dick very well,” said Rivers. “But from what I heard from everyone who knows him and from talking to him today, I think it’s a very good hire for us.” We’ll cover more from Tramel’s discussion with Rivers as well as the Lakers coaching search:

Rivers said that the league has done a great job of keeping him involved in the search for a replacement for Donald Sterling. Their involvement has helped him focus on basketball rather than the scandal, admits Rivers.
The league never went as far as to ask Rivers to run the Clippers, and Rivers said he wouldn’t have been interested even if they had since he has a limited understanding of the business side of running an NBA team.
Although the Lakers don’t appear to be in the running for Steve Kerr, they’re still likely to hire someone who makes a splash. Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News passes along the the opinions of experts from around the league about which candidates would be best suited for the job.

And-Ones: Kerr, Sterling, Hawks, Griffin

May 10th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Charlie Adams

Although Steve Kerr has never coached before, Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal opines he possesses the necessary traits to effectively run an NBA club. Still, it remains to be seen whether those traits can translate into effective results, says Schlosser. Here’s this afternoon’s look around the Association:

The Heat‘s James Jones, an executive for the NBA Player’s Association, says that it wouldn’t be acceptable for Shelly Sterling to retain ownership of the Clippers, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “That’s our stance, and it hasn’t changed, and it won’t,” said Jones.
John Branch of the New York Times examines the scenario that led to Donald Sterling purchasing the Clippers and chronicles the now banned owner’s tenure as boss in Los Angeles.
Some soon-to-be free agents have shown fondness for the Hawks roster and are intrigued at the prospect of playing with Jeff Teague, Al Horford, and Paul Millsap, making Atlanta an appealing destination, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
The Cavs named David Griffin “acting” GM on Februrary 6th, and Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer thinks it’s time the team officially offers him the role of full-time general manager.

Pacific Notes: Sterlings, Kings, Young

May 10th, 2014 at 8:40am CST by Cray Allred

The Kings finalized a 35-year lease agreement to build a new arena in Sacramento, according to a report from Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak and Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee. The agreement still has to be voted on by city council, but there are no signs at this point that the measure would fail. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The NBA is not worried about Shelly Sterling’s long term involvement with the Clippers, sources with knowledge of the league’s legal strategy tell Michael McCann of SI.com. There is no danger of Shelly becoming a controlling owner of the team by default, and the only way she could be named a controlling owner would be with league approval.
McCann has also learned that Sterling is likely to lose her share along with Donald Sterling if the league is successful in their push to oust him. California property law views the team as a single property shared by the Sterlings, not two distinct 50/50 pieces that the league could strip in part.
League officials are not worried about a “slippery slope” precedent being set with the ouster, per McCann. Private comments made by other owners in the past or future will not be subject to these measures, except for egregious cases that create exceptional outrage like Sterling’s comments did.
In anticipating the likelihood of a Sterling lawsuit, the SI.com scribe shares that the league is more concerned with the legal process becoming dragged out and embarrassing than it is with the strength of its case, which it expects to hold up in court.
Mike Trudell of Lakers.com takes a look at Nick Young‘s season with the Lakers, asking the pending free agent about his future with the team. “Hopefully I could be back but we’ll see what [the Lakers] plans are after the draft and settle in to what they want to do,” said Young. “I appreciate everything they said to me and being able to do what I do here.” The Lakers are rumored to be interested in bringing the shooting guard back next year.

Clippers Notes: Sterling, Rivers, Magic

May 9th, 2014 at 9:55pm CST by Cray Allred

Doc Rivers says the Clippers’ situation is still “murky” following the hire of interim CEO Dick Parsons, and he wishes he could have a “do-over” on his initial conversation with Shelly Sterling, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Presumably, Rivers was as unaware of Sterling’s drive to maintain her entire stake in the team at the time. Here’s more from L.A.:

Shelly Sterling’s lawyer made an appearance on CNN, vowing to fight any attempt to strip the team from her “to the death” (quote via Rachel Nichols of ESPN.com).
Magic Johnson told reporters including Eric Prisbell of USA Today that Clippers players wouldn’t play for the team if Sterling retains her 50% share in the team, as she intends to do. “Those guys are not going to play for anybody [named] Sterling,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be hard for them to sell that to the fans and definitely to the players.”
Johnson won’t say how interested he is in purchasing the team, telling Prisbell that he is hesitant to comment on what will likely be a long process leading up to a sale. “Donald Sterling is going to fight it. You know that. It is going to be a long time,” said Johnson. “I have other things to do before I just say my level of interest. The team has to be up for sale. And I think that is going to be eight months to a year. Once it’s official, that it’s really up for sale, we’ll take a look at it.”

Latest On Dick Parsons

May 9th, 2014 at 8:15pm CST by Cray Allred

We found out earlier today that Dick Parsons will be running the Clippers as their interim CEO as the league moves forward with its effort to strip banned owner Donald Sterling of the team. More details on the nature of his role are streaming in, mostly from the man himself. Here’s a roundup of the latest:

Parsons told Shelburne that he hopes his tenure is completed within months. “It’s interim and my hope would be that it’s months. How many, I can’t say,” said Parsons. “Because the longer this thing stays unresolved… this is not a pleasant story. We’ve got to get this behind us. But I can’t say anymore than anybody else can say how long it’s going to take.
While still pledging to cede control to Doc Rivers for basketball matters including the draft, Parsons again told Shelburne that he is the ultimate authority in L.A. For example, Parsons said that he would give the final yes or no for free agent signings.
Rivers told reporters including Medina that he is on board with the installation of Parsons (Twitter link). “I trust the league in this so well,” said Rivers. “They’re smarter than me.”
Rivers called Parsons a “very good hire” for the Clippers, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Earlier updates:

Magic Johnson offered warm praise of Parsons, taking to Twitter to call the interim CEO an “idol” of his. Johnson has interest in purchasing the Clippers.
Parsons told Aldridge that Adam Silver first approached him about the position on Monday.
While Parsons left Rivers in charge of basketball decisions, he maintains that he will still be the ultimate decision maker. “Every organization needs an ultimate leader. That doesn’t mean the ultimate leader has to make all the calls,” Parsons told Aldridge. “What I’ve said to [Rivers] is in my early background in law, I love and embrace the partnership approach to management. But at the end of the day, the CEO has to sign off on all the decisions.”
That lines up with his description of himself to Shelburne (Twitter link) as “proxy owner” for all team matters other than the “sale or alienation of the team.”
Parsons tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that he has no plans to stay with the team beyond this time of transition, and characterized his job as a temporary, emergency fix for a “headless” organization. “It’s hurting the players, it’s hurting the team, it’s hurting the game, it’s hurting the fans, it’s hurting advertising and it’s hurting, frankly, the league. It’s blown up beyond that,” said Parsons. “It’s an issue that’s more important than the Clippers and even the NBA. … How we handle it in this country is going to be noted not just by people who live here but by people around the world. I’m happy to try and help.”
Parsons told Zillgitt that he will step down from his position on the board of governors for Madison Square Garden, which controls the Knicks, but he will not move to Los Angeles.
Parsons reiterated to Zillgitt that Doc Rivers will still be very much in charge of basketball decisions in L.A. “I told [Rivers], ‘You run the basketball side. I’ll run the business side and we’ll get this done together.'”
Parsons revealed to Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News that his role will fill those of both banned owner Donald Sterling and inactive team president Andy Roeser. “My job is to build those two roles and provide leadership and stability to the team and to be the voice of ownership on [matters] that come before the NBA other than the sale of the team,” Parsons said.
Parsons told Medina that he doesn’t see Shelly Sterling having any managing say for the Clippers moving forward. “She is a beneficial owner of the team and has an ownership interest,” Parsons said. “But she doesn’t have a current role with the team and I don’t believe that will change.”
Parsons would not speculate to Medina on whether or not Shelly Sterling will be forced to give up her share in the team. “In terms of sale and who owns what and who’s going to own what as we go forward, that’s still in the court of the NBA,” said Parsons.
Parsons tells the Los Angeles Daily News scribe that it’s “very hard to tell” how long this transition will take to resolve. “The league is hopeful that we can get through this transition period before the beginning of the next season,” Parsons said. “I hope they are right. But we will have to wait and see.
The 66-year-old Parsons told David Aldridge of NBA.com he is not interested in owning the Clippers (Twitter link). “I’m an old guy now. I’d rather be with my grandkids.”
Parsons told Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times he won’t be involved in any resolution between Shelly Sterling and the league. “That is really between the Sterlings and the NBA,” said Parsons. “My job is to really be a conservator of the assets, to manage the assets so it runs properly, we keep the momentum, we build the value while that question of ownership is being bought out in another arena, an arena in which I’m not standing.”
Sterling repeated her assertion that she consulted with the NBA on its search for a Clippers CEO, and says she approves of the league’s choice of Parsons, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links).
Parsons told Shelburne that he will be reaching out to Sterling soon, because she is a stakeholder and she, unlike her husband, has not been banned (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

NBA Taps Richard Parsons As Clips Interim CEO

May 9th, 2014 at 2:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:20pm: The NBA has officially installed Parsons as interim CEO of the Clippers, the league announced.

“I believe the hiring of Dick Parsons will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers organization,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “Dick’s credentials as a proven chief executive speak for themselves and I am extremely grateful he accepted this responsibility.”

Parsons will control the business side of the team, leaving Doc Rivers to continue to lead the basketball operations department.

12:53pm: The NBA has chosen former Citicorp chairman and Time Warner chief Richard Parsons to run the Clippers, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (Twitter link). Team president Andy Roeser is on an indefinite leave of absence while the club has been searching for someone to lead in the team in the wake of owner Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban. Roeser was in charge immediately after the NBA meted out its punishment of Sterling, but the league said it wanted a “clean slate” for whomever would manage the team next. Parsons will run the team while the league seeks new ownership.

Parsons was the CEO of Time Warner from 2002 to 2007 and was Citigroup chairman from 2009 until 2012, when he retired. He nonetheless continues to serve on the board of directors for Madison Square Garden and other organizations. He was a member of President Barack Obama’s transition team in 2008 and a senior White House aide to President Gerald Ford.

The Clippers have remained in flux as Donald Sterling’s wife, Shelly, has sought to maintain 50% ownership of the club. The league reportedly hadn’t envisioned her desire to remain in the picture when it banned her husband and made plans to strip the team from his ownership. She also asserted that she was involved in the search for the new CEO, but it’s unclear whether that was the case. Donald Sterling is widely expected to mount a legal effort to stop the NBA from seizing control of the Clippers or forcing him to sell.

Pau Gasol Eyes Grizzlies, Bulls, Spurs, Lakers

May 9th, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pau Gasol spoke of highly of the Grizzlies and hinted at interest at the Bulls and Spurs as well as a return to the Lakers in a Spanish-language video on Marca.com, as James Barrigan of the Los Angeles Times notes. The soon-to-be free agent big man said it’s difficult for him to envision signing with the Clippers, given their proximity to and rivalry with the Lakers, for whom Gasol has played the past six and a half seasons. Gasol nonetheless praised Clippers guard Chris Paul and said that he likes to play with the league’s best, naming LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony in addition to Paul.

Gasol said in December that the Grizzlies would be an “appealing” option given the presence of his brother, Marc Gasol, and he reiterated those comments to Marca.com, also citing the strength of the Memphis team that won 50 games this past season. The Grizzlies want to first see what happens with Zach Randolph, who has a nearly $17MM player option, but they still seem to have designs on pursuing Pau Gasol, who turns 34 in the summer. The Bulls reportedly have interest, too, as do the Cavs and Bobcats. There have been no indications that the Spurs want to go after him, but they’d certainly fit Gasol’s desire to play for a winner, and Gasol praised the team and Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich in his latest remarks.

The Arn Tellem client has had a checkered relationship with the Lakers in recent months, recently saying the team would have to make major changes if he’s to re-sign. He seemed to soften his stance in the wake of the resignation of Mike D’Antoni, with whom he’d feuded. Gasol said this week that he still considered himself a Laker, though he said the absence of D’Antoni would not be the determining factor in his decision whether to leave the club in free agency.

Gasol said in the Marca video that he hopes the Lakers will make him an offer strong enough for him to consider. He’ll surely have to take a pay cut from this season’s salary, which exceeded $19MM, but he reportedly has a decent chance to receive an offer worth $10MM a year.