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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.

Clippers President Andy Roeser Takes Leave

May 6th, 2014 at 2:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers president Andy Roeser will take an indefinite leave of absence from the team, effective at once, the NBA announced. Roeser had been in charge of the Clippers since the league banned owner Donald Sterling for life. The move will allow a league-appointed CEO, which the NBA announced plans for over the weekend, to begin with a “clean slate,” according to Mike Bass, the league’s executive vice president of communications.

Roeser has been with the team for the last 30 years, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times points out (on Twitter), and that spans much of Sterling’s ownership of the club. The CEO will have the authority to decide whether Roeser remains with the team.

The departure of former GM Neil Olshey two years ago placed Roeser, along with Gary Sacks and then-coach Vinny Del Negro, in charge of the team’s basketball decisions. Sacks assumed most of the day-to-day business, but Roeser seemed to actively take part prior to the arrival of Doc Rivers, who has authority over basketball personnel matters in addition to his duties as coach.

And-Ones: NBPA, Draft, Rockets, Clippers

May 3rd, 2014 at 10:35pm CST by Cray Allred

In an email to NBA players, Kevin Johnson says that he hopes to present finalists for the NBPA’s vacant executive director position in late July, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the Association:

Since the Grizzlies playoff run lasted seven games, Nick Calathes will serve 13 games of his 20 game suspension to begin next season, Tom Ziller of SB Nation points out (via Twitter).
Shabazz Napier has signed with Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports Agency, Inc., reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter).
Jabari Parker has agreed to be represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, reports Bill Reiter of Fox Sports (on Twitter). Klutch Sports also represents LeBron James and Eric Bledsoe, among others, as the Hoops Rumors Agency Database shows.
Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle looks at the decisions facing the Rockets this offseason, including Chandler Parsons‘ option, potential free agent targets, and the likelihood that Omer Asik and/or Jeremy Lin get traded.
In the same piece, Feigen grades each player on the Rockets roster, noting their contract situation with the team.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside thinks that Troy Daniels‘ surprisingly strong play during the playoffs means he’ll walk away from the postseason as a winner, even though the Rockets suffered a first-round exit.
Shelly Sterling, wife of Donald Sterling and co-owner of the Clippers, voiced her support of Adam Silver‘s plan of action regarding the team (H/T Sam Amick of USA Today). “I spoke with Commissioner Adam Silver this week to tell him that I fully supported his recent swift and decisive action,” she said. “We also agreed at that time that, as a next step, both the league and the team should work together to find some fresh, accomplished executive leadership for the Clippers. I welcome his active involvement in the search for a person of the utmost character. As a co-owner, I am fully committed to taking the necessary steps to make the Clippers the best team in the NBA.”
The CEO chosen to run the Clippers during their ownership transition will have the authority to decide whether team president Andy Roeser remains with the franchise, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
Jim Peltz of The Los Angeles Times profiles the owners of every NBA team, excluding Sterling.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

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.

Reaction To NBA’s Punishment Of Donald Sterling

April 29th, 2014 at 7:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Donald Sterling told Jim Gray of Fox News that he has no intention of selling the Clippers, as Gray reported shortly before Adam Silver delivered the news that the Clippers owner is banned for life from the NBA (video link). It doesn’t appear as though the decision will be in his hands, however, as Silver interprets the NBA’s constitution to hold that a three-fourths majority of owners can strip the team from Sterling. Owners across the league have begun issuing statements in support of Silver, and one member of the Board of Governors tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that Silver has the votes necessary for the ouster (Twitter link). Here’s more reaction to the commissioner’s decision:

NBPA president Chris Paul had this to say before tonight’s playoff game: “In response to today’s ruling by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver, my teammates and I are in agreement with his decision…We appreciate the strong leadership from Commissioner Silver and he has our full support” (Twitter links via ESPN LA’s Arash Markazi).
According to the NBA constitution, Sterling has 30 days to pay his $2.5MM fine, tweets Ken Berger of CBS Sports. If Sterling fails to comply, that in itself will be grounds for his dismissal by the Board of Governors.
Getting the votes necessary to take the team away from Sterling isn’t the issue, as Glen Taylor, chairman of the Board of Governors, tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). The legal fallout from such an action is the greater concern, Taylor says, adding that he’ll vote to oust Sterling.

Earlier updates:

Clippers president Andy Roeser will handle day-to-day operations for the Clippers in Sterling’s place, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Any outcome short of Sterling selling the team wouldn’t have been enough for the league’s players, Mason said, as Mullen tweets. That suggests there will be extra pressure on the league’s owners to strip the team from Sterling, though it appears as though the owners will indeed vote Sterling out.
Sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe that Silver and the league, and not Sterling, would control the sale of the Clippers if the owners vote to take the team away from Sterling (Twitter link).
One Clippers player tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that everyone on the team is pleased with Silver’s punishment (via Twitter). The Clippers released a statement saying that they “wholeheartedly support and embrace” Silver’s decision, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com passes along (on Twitter). While that statement seems to have come out without Sterling’s involvement, it’s unclear who’s running the Clippers for now, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
Sterling can’t attend any games or practices, show up at any Clippers office or facility, or take part in any business involving the team or the league in accordance with his lifetime ban, according to The Associated Press.
Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, speaking on behalf of the player’s union, expressed satisfaction with the commissioner’s ruling, notes Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (Twitter link).
Players were ready to boycott games if Silver didn’t act as they wanted him to, union vice president Roger Mason said, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Mason added that the players want owners to swiftly vote on Sterling’s ouster, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).

Bloom On Clippers, Olshey, Del Negro

August 18th, 2012 at 2:54pm CST by Sean Highkin

Earl Bloom of the Orange County Register has a new column that touches on the Clippers' offseason following the departure of GM Neil Olshey.

Bloom believes the loss of Olshey isn't as big a blow for the future of the Clippers as it had been made out to be, praising the job Vinny Del Negro, Andy Roeser, and Gary Sacks have done in his place.
The veteran pieces the Clippers have brought in this offseason, including Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Grant Hill, Lamar Odom, Ryan Hollins, and Ronny Turiaf, could prove to be very valuable, writes Bloom.
Bloom would not be surprised if one of Del Negro, Roeser, or Sacks succeeds Olshey as general manager, pointing to the fact that Mike Dunleavy previously pulled coach/GM double duty for the Clippers.