5:04pm: Parsons emphasized that he’d “try” to convince Rivers and the players to go through with this season if Sterling remained as the team owner, tweets Markazi.
4:47pm: Doc Rivers has told Clippers CEO Dick Parsons that he doesn’t think he’d want to continue as coach of the team if Donald Sterling were to remain as owner, as Parsons said today under oath during testimony in the Sterling probate trial, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Presumably that also applies to Rivers’ role in charge of the team’s player personnel as president of basketball operations. His departure would have the club in a “death spiral,” Parsons testified, according to Markazi (on Twitter).
“If Doc were to leave that would be a disaster,” Parsons said on the stand, as Markazi tweets. “Doc is the guy that leads the effort.”
Parsons, whom the league appointed in May to serve as a caretaker for the Clippers, also expressed concern that players would seek to leave the team, Markazi notes (Twitter link). The league has pursued a variety of avenues to wrest the team from Sterling, whom commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life this spring after a recording of racially charged statements emerged. Sterling has nonetheless lingered as he pursues legal action against the league and resists the sale of the team.
The trial is taking place to determine whether Shelly Sterling had the right to take control of the Sterling family trust that legally owns the Clippers and negotiate a deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The $2 billion that Ballmer agreed to put up for the franchise would be tough to match should the judge rule that Shelly Sterling acted outside of her rights, as Parsons testified, according to Markazi (Twitter link).
“In my opinion its going to be tough to get this price again,” Parsons said in testimony. “If Steve goes away I don’t know how you get to this number again.”
Rivers took weeks during the immediate wake of the Sterling scandal to dismiss the notion that he’d walk away from the Clippers, finally saying that he had no plans to leave and pointing to the two years remaining on his contract. Still, the possibility of next season starting with Donald Sterling in place as owner of the Clippers is one that Silver wouldn’t dismiss in remarks last week.
Let’s play “state the obvious”
He should want to leave.
Doc, get a life already. In fact, let’s see you not get paid next year. I don’t think so.
What u think he’s living check to check lmao!!
He not a slave to the Clippers neither are the players!
If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything!
They are all slaves to the almighty dollar. Guaranteed they still play even if Sterling is the owner. They’re too greedy not to and have no idea how to curb their lavish spending to not get paid.
thats a little much …
Start calling dibs on Clipper players.
Dibs on Michael Olowokandi… Oh crap.
Could it be the Lakers are hoping that Doc falls to them. :)
Was going to say that. If Griffin,Paul,Jordan were to be released teams like Knicks,Lakers,Cavs or so on would try and sign them.
Never going to happen, but Kyrie would be traded away in a heartbeat.
It’s funny how even though for years everyone in the league knew Sterling was a racist what with the many lawsuits filed against him, one even being from his former VP of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor, yet Doc Rivers never had a problem with working for or more importantly taking his money until now. What does that say about Doc Rivers?
Doc is a retard, the team will be sold one way or they other. Can’t believe the players look to doc as a leader. The title saying doc is out if Donald continues to be owner says it all. True leaders don’t say stupid things like that specially when u know that the team will be sold 2 Balmer or auctioned off. what really bothers me about the whole thing is that Donald sterling is an elderly man with alheimers with a little bit of dementia. Donald has a legitimate excuse for saying racial remarks because he is not in full control of his faculties. Remember Reverend Jeremiah right? Jeremiah had no alhymers or dementia and he’s said a lot of racial stuff but nobody raised hell like with Donald sterling. It’s unbelievable then again it is believable when you think about the people who are complaining. sorry driving I’m voice texting mistakes here
i am just gonna put this out there and i fully expect to get hate for this .. but donald said all of this stuff in private someone else made it public … i want all of you to think of the worst thing you ever said in private and imagine how you would feel if someone played it on tmz .. then you can add to the fact that this guy is not in his right mind .. he is like that crazy old grandpa who smells like baby powder and says shit that dont make sense … but how pepople have the nerve to vote him the most hated man in america while there are literally child molestors , rapist terrorists out there … i mean come on .. this is what is wrong with our culture today … and then we can get into the fact that its ok for athletes of color to say they hate white people cough cough charles barkley …. is donald sterling a turd yes .. was i offended … yes ..but just like an athlete who gets numerous duis j kidd , or assualts someone randy moss… or abuses cocaine strawberry … you say damn that sucks and you move on …
If he is the owner of the team at the start of the next season, all the players should ask to be released from their contracts or at the minimum boycott the season!! NBA should shutdown the clippers season until the matter is resolved..