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Clippers Rumors: Free Agency, Rivers, Sterling

May 12th, 2014 at 10:22am CST by Chuck Myron

A prominent agent told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that he has clients who don’t intend to sign with the Clippers this summer unless Donald Sterling is “gone completely.” That indicates the Sterling saga will indeed have an effect on free agency, as there’s almost no chance the situation will be resolved by July, as Deveney points out.

“I don’t think the whole thing winds up with Sterling back in charge, that is just hard to imagine,” another agent told Deveney. “There’s the chance, though. There’s a chance you wind up working for Sterling. That’s the problem.”

Here’s more from a team that fought off the Thunder and a media circus to overcome a 22-point deficit in Sunday’s win:

People around the league feel as though Doc Rivers won’t leave the Clippers even if the league hasn’t completely severed its ties with Sterling by this summer, Deveney writes in the same piece. Rivers hasn’t said definitively that he’ll return to the team for next season after raising questions about his future shortly after the Sterling fiasco began.
The league believes it can strip Shelly Sterling’s ownership of the team when it does so with her husband, as we passed along last night, though Shelly Sterling intends to fight that interpretation, as she told ABC’s Barbara Walters. “To be honest with you, I’m wondering if a wife of one of the owners, and there’s 30 owners, did something like that, said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband?” Shelly Sterling said. “Or would they leave the husband in?”
Pierce O’Donnell, the attorney for Shelly Sterling, cited the U.S. Constitution in his rebuttal to the league’s contention that it can take the team from her. Legal experts have emphasized to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News that the Constitution doesn’t apply to businesses like the NBA, and lawyers make it clear that such a defense is flimsy, Medina adds (Twitter links).
Shelly Sterling also told Walters that she’s been speaking to attorneys for the last 20 years about a divorce, which could further complicate the league’s efforts to remove the Sterlings.
Donald Sterling attempted to explain his racially charged remarks and asked the league’s forgiveness in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Clippers/Sterling Rumors: Thursday

May 8th, 2014 at 9:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver could scarcely have been more resolute in his press conference last week to ban Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life, but It doesn’t appear as though final resolution to the saga will be so straightforward. Here’s more on the battle for the Clippers involving Sterling and wife Shelly Sterling.

Shelly Sterling does not want to become the managing owner of the Clippers, but is hoping to maintain her 50% share and passive role while a new buyer replaces her husband’s active role, a person close to her camp tells Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today.
Schrotenboer’s source said that Sterling is in talks with the league, but didn’t give an indication of whether the NBA is agreeable to such a scenario.
Sterling’s attorney released a two page statement further detailing Sterling’s claim of rights to continue owning the team, per Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
In the statement, the attorney denied that legal proceedings from Shelly Sterling’s past are fair grounds on which to judge the co-owner, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com passes on (Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

The Sterling family trust in control of the Clippers indeed lays out a 50-50 ownership split between Donald and Shelly Sterling, Medina tweets.
Rivers reiterated that it wouldn’t be ideal for Shelly Sterling to own the team going forward, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News notes (Twitter links). “That would be a difficult situation for everybody because of the relationship,” Rivers said. “I guarantee every person wouldn’t be on board with that. Whether I would or not, I’m not going to say.”
Shelly Sterling’s lawyer tells Tami Abdollah of The Associated Press that she “will not agree to a forced or involuntary seizure of her interest” in the team, which is a 50% share, Abdollah writes. Attorney Pierce O’Donnell said Shelly Sterling is considering divorce from Donald Sterling, and he claims they’ve been separated for the past year. O’Donnell also said that Shelly Sterling “abhors” her husband’s racial comments and believes that Silver “exonerated” her last week when he said that no decision had been made regarding any claim to ownership from the family of Donald Sterling. O’Donnell added that he spoke with the NBA on Thursday, and that Shelly Sterling still plans to attend Friday’s game against the Thunder.
A recording of a phone conversation allegedly involving Donald Sterling gives further indication that he’ll fight the NBA’s efforts to strip him of Clippers ownership, as Dylan Howard and Melissa Cronin of RadarOnline.com report. Howard and Cronin claim possession of an affidavit confirming that Sterling was part of the conversation. “You can’t force someone to sell property in America!” Sterling is to have said, according to the report. “I’m a lawyer, that’s my opinion.”
Doc Rivers and the Clippers had no indication that Shelly Sterling would try to keep the team, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Markazi points to a comment Rivers made last week in which the coach asserted that it didn’t sound as if she could own the team going forward and that “I think she knows that,” Rivers said. (Twitter link).
Shelly Sterling asked Rivers’ permission to attend Game 5 against the Warriors, then attended Game 7 against the team’s wishes, Markazi points out, adding that the team wants nothing to do with her as “co-owner” of the club (Twitter links). Rivers and other Clippers department heads are jointly running the team in the absence of president Andy Roeser, who’s on indefinite leave, while the NBA searches for a new CEO.
We passed along the latest on Shelly Sterling’s push to control the Clippers earlier today.

Western Notes: Sterling, Owners, Lakers

May 2nd, 2014 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Donald Sterling has kept a low profile since NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned him for life and fined him $2.5MM on Tuesday. Sterling broke his silence in an interview with DuJour.com, saying, “I wish I had just paid her [V. Stiviano] off.” Stiviano, in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, characterized Sterling’s current state of mind as “confused,” adding, “I think he feels very alone, not truly supported by those around him. Tormented, emotionally traumatized” (link via ESPN.com).

Clippers/Sterling Rumors: Roeser, Rivers, Silver

May 2nd, 2014 at 2:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Donald Sterling has prostate cancer, as Linda Massarella, Emily Smith, Bruce Golding and Helen Kumari of the New York Post report, and his poor health might play a role as the NBA seeks to remove the Clippers from his ownership. The family of the 80-year-old could avoid millions of dollars in taxes if the team is sold after his death, as David Wharton and Stuart Pfeifer of the Los Angeles Times explained this week, giving Sterling incentive to stall and fight the NBA in court until his passing.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com has much more on the Sterling saga, and while her entire piece is worth reading, we’ll pass along a few notable revelations here:

Clippers president Andy Roeser opposed the idea of releasing a statement that disputed the tapes, Shelburne reports. Sterling prevailed upon him to release the statement, which argued that the recordings didn’t represent Sterling’s true feelings, through the team with Roeser’s name on it. Doc Rivers was “furious” about the statement, Shelburne writes, describing it as a breaking point for Rivers and the players.
Roeser has been in charge since Silver banned Sterling, but the NBA will likely appoint a trustee to run the team, according to Shelburne.
The NBA interviewed a third person who could be heard in the background of the recordings of Sterling and V. Stiviano, and that interview could help the NBA in its attempts to oust Sterling if the legality of the recordings is questioned in court, Shelburne writes.
NBA owners were confident that Silver would take appropriate action, reflecting the belief in the commissioner that they’d held since the 2011 lockout. Many of them had wanted him to succeed David Stern long before he did so in February, according to Shelburne.

L.A. Notes: Magic, Rivers, Farmar, D’Antoni

May 1st, 2014 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Magic Johnson earlier this week denied interest in buying the Clippers, but he’s apparently changed his mind, judging by his remarks Wednesday, as Ben Bergman of 89.3 KPCC reports (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

“I will be owning an NBA team sometime,” Johnson said. “Is the Clippers the right situation? Of course. It’s one of the premiere franchises.”

The teams of Johnson’s past and perhaps his future have been most prominent in news across the league this week, and there’s more this afternoon on both the Lakers and the Clippers:

Doc Rivers hasn’t made it entirely clear whether he intends to return to the Clippers, but he says he has no interest in making the jump across Staples Center to coach the Lakers, observes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Jordan Farmar was a fan of Mike D’Antoni, but the soon-to-be free agent point guard doesn’t find the Lakers any less attractive now that the coach has resigned, as Farmar tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “I want to be a Laker,” Farmar said. “I like playing for Mike. Whether it’s Phil Jackson, Mike D’Antoni or whoever else coaches this team, that won’t deter me from wanting to be a Laker.”
D’Antoni reportedly would like another NBA coaching job, but the general sentiment leaguewide is that his success with the Suns was an aberration, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. A GM who spoke to Deveney called D’Antoni a “one-trick pony.”
There seems to be a decent chance that the Clippers will sell for more than $1 billion, but It will take more than money to buy the team, as James Rainey and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times examine.
Cavs guard Jarrett Jack believes every player in the league should boycott practices and games next season if Donald Sterling still owns the Clippers by then, as Jack said today on 95.7 The Game, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.

Clippers Rumors: Rivers, Sterling, Miller

April 30th, 2014 at 10:19am CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers picked up a significant on-court victory Tuesday, beating the Warriors, but Adam Silver’s punishment of owner Donald Sterling is probably a significant off-court victory, too. The team would have become a pariah for players and agents, likely scuttling a squad that’s been building toward contention the past several years. Still, there’s no guarantee a key figure will be back, as we examine amid the latest on the Clippers:

Doc Rivers on Tuesday night still wouldn’t commit to returning to the team next season, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports notes.
There’s a strong chance that Sterling will sue the NBA on antitrust grounds, a source tells Michael McCann of SI.com, who outlines the legal ramifications of Silver’s decision.
Silver spoke with Sterling before announcing the punishment, but neither Sterling nor anyone on his behalf gave the league assurances that he won’t sue, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Sterling will have the chance to defend himself in a hearing before the NBA’s Board of Governors before the owners vote to strip the team from him, as Berger writes in the same piece. TNT’s David Aldridge seconds that in a piece for NBA.com that also lays out the timeline for the NBA’s probable ouster of the Clippers owner.
Rivers doubts that the Clippers can remain in the Sterling family, an idea that union vice president Roger Mason Jr. opposes, but Shelly Sterling, the wife of Donald Sterling, wants son-in-law Eric Miller to take over the team, Spears writes in a separate piece.

More Clippers/Sterling Fallout

April 29th, 2014 at 10:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There are more noteworthy quotes to pass along tonight regarding the reaction to Donald Sterling’s punishment, and what this could mean for the future of the Clippers organization, and we’ll continue to relay the latest below:

Based on what he’s heard out of Seattle and other cities, the NBA is only looking to find a new owner for the Clippers, not move them, tweets ESPN LA’s Arash Markazi.
Rochelle Sterling – wife of Donald Sterling – is in attendance at tonight’s Clippers-Warriors game but is watching from a suite, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA. Earlier today, league commissioner Adam Silver told the media that no decision has been made regarding Donald Sterling’s family: “This ruling applies specifically to Donald Sterling and Donald Sterling only” (Associated Press). In the same piece, it’s said that top Clipper executives aren’t likely to be shuffled in the short term, particularly while the team is still competing in the playoffs.
Former boxing star Oscar De La Hoya has emerged as another potential investor that would like to join Mayweather in his attempt to purchase the team, reports Bob Velin of USA Today.

Earlier updates:

Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe and Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer are among the investors that Floyd Mayweather Jr. alluded to when speaking of his interest in buying the Clippers, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.
NBPA vice president Roger Mason Jr. tells Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News that in addition to Donald Sterling’s ban, he expects Sterling’s family to be stripped of team ownership (Twitter link).
Clippers head coach and senior VP of basketball operations Doc Rivers says that Commissioner Adam Silver was fantastic today and made the right decision, adding: “we’re all in a better place because of this.” He later said that he couldn’t remember the last time he actually spoke with Donald Sterling (All Twitter links via Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe).
Rivers said he didn’t hear Sterling say anything racist before this incident and joined the organization “on good faith.” When asked about his future with the Clippers, Rivers had this to say: “I haven’t thought about leaving or staying…(but) Adam’s decision, if there was one, made mine easier” (All Twitter links from Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News).
“Is this over? No, it’s not over. But it’s the start of a healing process we need,” said Rivers, according to a tweet by Scott-Howard Cooper of NBA.com.
When asked if he would still work for Sterling, Rivers replied “I don’t know If I am.” He also told reporters that the locker room was silent when he delivered the news of Sterling’s punishment to the players (Twitter links via Arash Markazi of ESPN LA).
Entertainment mogul David Geffen – who made an attempt to buy the Clippers several years ago – is still reportedly interested in making a bid, a source tells Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal.
Boxing megastar Floyd Mayweather Jr. tells Bob Velin of USA Today that he and some other investors would be interested in purchasing the team as well: “I can’t come in here talking about Mayweather only (acquiring) 3% or 4% (of the team)…”I (have) to get a solid percentage…But do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes we do. We’re very, very interested in buying the Clippers.”

Lowe’s Latest: Rivers, Jackson, Kerr

April 29th, 2014 at 7:09pm CST by Ryan Raroque

If Doc Rivers were to get out of his contract with the Clippers, he would immediately emerge as the front-runner for any head coaching opening in the league this summer, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland. One potential opportunity is the Warriors, who are embroiled in a tumultuous situation with head coach Mark Jackson. As Lowe chronicles, tension between Jackson and the organization has been brewing for quite a while.

Multiple league sources confirmed to Lowe the gist of a report from ESPN’s Chris Broussard that explained how former Warriors assistant Darren Erman had been fired for secretly recording coaches’ conversations. Those same sources added that Erman was concerned that Jackson and those loyal to Jackson were insulting him to other players behind his back. Lowe also says that Golden State’s front office is fond of Erman and was upset at having to let him go. Nonetheless, Brian Scalabrine‘s recent demotion and Erman’s firing has only added to the chaos in Golden State.

As we relayed from Lowe earlier, the consensus around the league is that Jackson will not return to the Warriors next year unless he leads them on a longer-than-expected playoff run. Though Jackson could still save his job, Lowe says that it’d be smart to bet that the team will have a new head coach next year.

Here’s more from Lowe’s latest column:

Golden State still hasn’t made a final decision on Jackson and has not reached out directly to any potential candidates, sources tell Lowe.
Scalabrine’s demotion was a compromise between the front office and Jackson, who initially made a show of firing him in front of other players and coaches even though he had no real grounds to do so.
Jackson reportedly asked Warriors adviser Jerry West not to attend most practices and team activities.
If the Warriors decided to replace Jackson, they would still consider other big names beyond Rivers, which is why — according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein — the Knicks tried to expedite their attempt to hire Steve Kerr this week. New York understands that two or three appealing opportunities could emerge after postseason eliminations, and that Kerr would be a potential candidate for some of those teams.
Front office and ownership sources around the league think there’s a decent chance the Clippers will be the first NBA franchise to sell for $1 billion, Lowe writes, echoing an earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Wojnarowski’s Latest: Sterling, Rivers, Johnson

April 29th, 2014 at 8:12am CST by Chuck Myron

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.

Clippers/Donald Sterling Rumors: Monday

April 28th, 2014 at 12:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

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.