Three days ago Donald Sterling was prepared to fight until the bloody end to maintain ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. He has since been deemed clinically incompetent to have a voice in the sale of the Clippers. The diagnosis is yet another mysterious turn in this ongoing saga. Hopefully this is the last time Donald Sterling's name is mentioned around NBA matters.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has agreed in principle to purchase the Clippers. Ballmer really broke the bank in this transaction. The franchise is currently worth an estimated $575 Million dollars. The deal is reportedly worth $2 Billion dollars. This deal nearly quadruples the Milwaukee Bucks record breaking $550 million dollar sale earlier this year.
Ballmer didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to own an NBA franchise. The Clippers could have been sold for 1$ Billion dollars. Ballmer was apparently willing to outbid all suitors.
Shelly Sterling may have saved the league from a nasty legal battle. Her estranged husband seemed ready fight the NBA until the end. At the end of the day Sterling walks away from this ordeal a filthy rich man. 2$ Billion dollars in the bank doesn't seem like much of a punishment.
The sale still has to be approved by the leagues board of trustees. Hopefully the kinks can get worked out sooner than later. The Clippers have a championship caliber team. The franchise cannot afford for this debacle to carry over to next season.
Donald Sterling is the longest tenured owner in the NBA. He purchased the Los Angeles Clippers in 1981 for $12 million dollars. Today the Clippers are worth around $600 million dollars.
Herb Kohl recently sold the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million dollars. The Clippers are a gold mine compared to the Bucks. The team will likely be sold for around $1 billion dollars. Sterling will live the remainder of his life an extremely wealthy man.
Judging by the comments released on TMZ, Sterling is obviously an extremely stubborn man. Adam Silver is a seasoned lawyer. He had to have expected Sterling to put up a fight to remain in the league.
Sterling has a great legal team. Getting rid of him will not be an easy task. However, the NBA is a private league. Sterling's comments are bad for business. A bigot such as himself has no place in a league dominated by minorities.
Sterling has one last chance to prove his case to the rest of the NBA's owners. The other 29 owners will vote on June 3rd, 2014 on whether or not to force a sale. The owners need to make a statement by voting unanimously to get rid of Sterling for good. Mark Cuban has taken a public stand defending the troubled owner. Cuban is no stranger to controversy. I trust that the rest of the owners will do the right thing.
The clock is ticking on Donald Sterling. Lets just hope for the sake of the NBA family he's gone sooner than later.
Sooner or later the naysayers are going to have to back off of Russell Westbrook. During Kevin Durant's acceptance speech he called Russell an MVP-caliber player. That's exactly how he looked in game four of the Western Conference Finals. He posted 40 points, 10 assists and five steals in 46 minutes.
Last year this time Russell was at home nursing a torn meniscus. That time off may serve as a blessing in disguise. This was the first serious injury in his life. He had never missed a game during his high school, college and NBA career up until that point. In certain situations point-guard's benefit from watching the game from the sideline. Seeing the game from a different perspective can aid in a players maturity.
This series is identical to the last time these two teams met in the Western Conference Finals through four games. OKC took control of the series with a win in game five. To date that was the biggest win in the Thunder's short history. The drama switches back to Texas for game five.
The Miami Heat are now 2 wins away from becoming the first team to advance to the NBA Finals in four consecutive seasons since the Boston Celtics in the mid 1980's. The organization is in pursuit of its fourth world championship since entering the league in 1988. Not bad for only 26 years of existence.
The Indiana Pacers were moments away from taking a commanding 2-0 series lead over the defending champions. After letting game two slip away Indiana needed to try and steal back home-court advantage in game three. Seeing as how that proposition has failed, Indiana is now in danger of letting the series slip away. Miami's goal entering the playoffs was to get through the Eastern Conference Playoffs as quickly as possible. If the Pacers don't show up to play 48 minutes of clean, turnover free, playoff basketball they can kiss this series goodbye.
Ray Allen burned the Pacers for 16 points, included a perfect 4-4 from three point range. Ray was acquired to put his staple on a playoff series of this manner. Jesus Shuttlesworth is still getting it done on the verge of 40.
Prior to game three these two teams alternated wins and losses for 13 games this season. Miami wants to give the perception they've figured the Pacers out. This is still a winnable series for the Pacers. Frank Vogel has to reach into his bag of tricks and figure out how to get the most out of his team. At this point last year the Pacers were coming into their own. No matter the outcome of this series, it would be refreshing to see Indiana maintain some consistency. The Pacers are a mentally weak basketball team. However, Indiana possesses the tools to win it all.
Indiana was rolling in game three when David West, Luis Scola and Roy Hibbert were punishing Miami's front-court. Size has been Miami's kryptonite since the big three took their talents to South Beach. Vogel needs to come up with a way to exploit their size advantage more.
Mark Cuban is one of the most outspoken owners in American sports. It seems as if the former internet tycoon is always in the middle of some sort of controversy. When he's not busy getting fined for criticizing NBA officials, he usually finds some way to ruffle feathers. Cuban is in the media more than George Steinbrenner was during his run as owner of the evil empire.
" If I see a black kid in a hoodie, and its late at night I'm walking to the other side of the street" said Cuban. " and if on that side of the street there's a guy that has tattoos all over his face, white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere I'm walking back to the other side of the street."
I presume this was an attempt by Cuban to not be hypocritical!
WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOUVE SEEN A BRASH OF VOILENCE TOWARDS CAUCASIONS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT IN AMERICA?
This is an obvious attempt to ease the pressure coming down on Donald Sterling. Cuban is probably fearful of himself being recorded by one of his closest confidants, which could pit him in the same situation Sterling is currently facing. I doubt Cuban is a racist, but I would love to be a fly on the wall to hear how he truly feels about black people.
Cuban chose the wrong platform to get his point across. The senseless murder of Trayvon Martin and the wrongful acquittal of George Zimmerman are still simmering in people across America. What it comes down to is blacks should know better than to wear a hoodie after hours in the wrong neighborhood. However, someone is Cuban's position should know better than to equate the Sterling saga to the ongoing issue of racial profiling in America.
Kevin Ollie has signed a five-year extension to remain as head coach of the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team. Since capturing the NCAA Championship in
April, Ollie's name has been associated with every NBA head coaching vacancy.
The Los Angeles Lakers were reportedly interested in Ollie's services. Ollie entered the league a year after Kobe Bryant. He played for 11 teams during his journeyman career. If the Lakers are sputtering by all-star break their next hire as head coach will be on the way out the door. Kobe is short on time and wants to win now.
UConn took a chance on Ollie after Jim Calhoun's abrupt retirement in 2012. Just four years ago he was still playing in the NBA. After a lengthy NBA career Ollie should be financially stable. He gave Connecticut a hometown discount by agreeing to an annual salary of $2.8 million dollars. After this springs impressive run, the second-year coach could have demanded top dollar pay.
Ollie was looking at the bigger picture. UConn is arguably the best NCAA Basketball program in America.
"I'm not chasing championships, I want championships to chase me" Ollie said.
The entire coaching staff at UConn were former players under Jim Calhoun including Ollie. Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon were all in Texas during Final Four weekend to support their alma mater. The support from the university, community and former players is evident.
Ollie's goal is to continue the successful run they began at the school in the early 90's. Programs such as UCLA or Kansas have been relevant for generations. Today UConn is on the same pedestal as these historic institutions.
Replacing a legend is no easy task in sports. UConn has found a diamond in the rough in Kevin Ollie.
This year marks only the third time the Los Angeles Lakers were involved in the NBA draft lottery in franchise history. The Lakers will make the seventh selection in this years draft. Mitch Kupchak has his work cut out. Whoever they select will be expected to contribute immediately. Kobe Bryant is expected to retire following the 2015-16 NBA season. Kobe isn't interested in grooming an unpolished product. Kobe is looking to catch Michael Jordan and if possible surpass his six rings. The Lakers are looking to win now.
This season multiple teams tanked down the stretch. The Philadelphia 76ers were the main culprits this year. Philly almost set an NBA record for consecutive losses. The franchise has not seen futility of this magnitude since selecting Allen Iverson in the 1996 NBA Draft. Michael Carter Williams has superstar potential. His length should cause problems for guards around the league for years to come. Nerleans Noel is healthy after missing the entire season with a torn ACL. With two selections in the top ten, the Sixers have an opportunity to build a nucleus for the future.
The Boston Celtics will make the sixth overall selection. Although Boston won a championship in 2008, the franchise has often been in the lottery since the Larry Bird dynasty came to an end in 1992. Danny Ainge is arguably the best GM in the NBA. He hates losing with a passion. The Celtics are still in rebuild mode. However, Ainge will expect improvement from last years 25-57 finish.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers are not a relevant NBA franchise in a few years they will have squandered a golden opportunity to build a championship level team from the ground up. Four years ago Cleveland was as grim an NBA city as you can find. The Cavaliers will make the first overall selection for the third time in the last four years. Kyrie Irving is a legitimate NBA player. He is one of the best players in the NBA under 25 years of age. Anthony Bennett didn't play much during his rookie campaign. This is a huge opportunity for Cleveland. The city has not seen a professional championship since 1964. Dan Snyder and company better not squander this opportunity.
