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.
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.”
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.
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.
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, tweetsRamona 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 MasonJr. 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 (AllTwitterlinks 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” (AllTwitterlinks 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 atweet 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 (Twitterlinks 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.”
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 Knickstried 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.
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.
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 (AllTwitterlinks). 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.
It has been a trying weekend for the Clippers players off the court and it hasn’t been much easier on the court thus far today. Here’s a look at the latest on owner Donald Sterling and the Clippers as they look to turn things around against the Warriors..
Clipperscoach Doc Rivers told reporters before today’s game, including Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, that he has yet to talk to Sterling and has no desire to at this time. Rivers went on to say that he’s unsure of what he’d have to hear from the owner in order to work for him again next season. Meanwhile, in an act of silent protest today, the Clippers players turned their warm-up jerseys inside-out for today’s shootaround to conceal the team name on the front.
The Clippers likely couldn’t afford Paul Pierce this summer anyway, but a reunion between Rivers and Pierce can be safely ruled out if Sterling is still involved in Los Angeles, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson met with commissioner Adam Silver today to discuss the Sterling situation, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Johnson has agreed to take on an expanded role with the union in order to help address the ongoing case (link).
Johnson told reporters that the NBPA doesn’t want Sterling to attend any more playoff games this year and wants to know why sanctions haven’t been brought against him yet, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The mayor added that the union wants to know what the possible range of punishments could be and wants to be involved in the process (link).
Former commissioner David Stern and the NBA validated Sterling by helping to steer Chris Paul to the Clippers in December 2011, writes Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins. There has been evidence of Sterling’s racism in past court documents and the league should have taken an appropriate stance before this most recent incident.
As we approach the end of the NBA regular season, it’s the time of year when the annual coaching carousel begins to spin and a slew of faces will end up in brand new places. Heading into the 2013/14 season there were a total of 13 coaching changes, which if you’re keeping score at home, is the most ever in a single offseason.
We won’t know for sure just how many teams will be making a change on their bench until the playoffs are over. Normally you would think a playoff spot would ensure job security, but Lionel Hollins, Vinny Del Negro, and Larry Drew all weren’t retained after reaching the playoffs last year. So the exact number of vacancies are up in the air, but we know there will be some.
If your team is making a head coaching change, which would you prefer in your new hire? Do you want a veteran coach with years of experience to lead your team? One who has a proven track record, but also could be carrying baggage and bad habits picked up throughout the years. Or, would you prefer the energy and new ideas a first-time coach can provide? A new coach has more to prove, and might be more in touch with the pulse and culture of his players, but has no experience to rely on, and no track record to predict future performance.
Let’s look at how this year’s crop of new coaches fared as an example. First up, the ones with prior experience:
Doc Rivers (Clippers): The team is 55-24, first in the Pacific Division, and the third seed in the playoffs. Last year’s team went 56-26 under Vinny Del Negro, before Del Negro wasn’t retained and the team traded for Rivers.
Maurice Cheeks (Pistons): He was fired 50 games into the year with a record of 20-29. Detroit was 29-53 in 2012/13 under Lawrence Frank. After the team signed Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off season, owner Tom Gores expected a much better record and for the team to make the playoffs.
Mike Brown (Cavaliers): The team sits at 32-47, which is good for tenth in the eastern conference. Last year under Byron Scott the team had a record of 24-58 and ended up with the first overall selection in the draft.
Larry Drew (Bucks): The Bucks sit at 14-64. which is good for the worst record in the league. In 2012/13 under Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan the team went 38-44.
Now for how the first-time coaches performed:
Jason Kidd (Nets): The Nets are at 43-35, which is good for the fifth overall playoff seed. Kidd replaced interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, whose team finished 2012/13 with a record of 49-33.
Brad Stevens (Celtics): Stevens, taking over for Doc Rivers, has gone 23-55, but has the re-building team heading in a positive direction. Last year’s team went 41-40.
Mike Budenholzer (Hawks): The Hawks have gone 35-43 and currently hold the final playoff spot in the east. Last year’s Larry Drew led squad went 44-38.
Steve Clifford (Bobcats): Clifford has led the Bobcats to a 40-38 record and the sixth seed in the east. Under Mike Dunlap the team went 21-61 during last year’s campaign.
Brian Shaw (Nuggets): The Nuggets have been hampered by injuries all season, and sit at 35-44. Shaw replaced coach of the year winner George Karl, who led the team to a record of 57-25.
David Joerger (Grizzlies): Joerger replaced Lionel Hollins and has guided the team to a record of 46-32, and has the team is one game out of the final playoff spot. Last year the team went 56-26.
Brett Brown (Sixers): Under Brown the Sixers have the second worst record in the league at 17-61, including a record-tying 26 game losing streak. Last season under Doug Collins, the team went 34-48.
Jeff Hornacek (Suns): The Suns are one of the most improved teams in the league with a record of 47-31, and hold the seventh seed in the western conference. Last year under Lindsey Hunter and Alvin Gentry the team went 25-57.
Mike Malone (Kings): Under Malone the Kings have gone 27-52. During the 2012/13 season under Keith Smart the team ended up 28-54.
This means that in their first seasons with their new teams, experienced coaches went 121-164 (.424), and the first-timers went 313-391 (.444). There are many different factors outside a coach’s control that contribute to the team’s final record, but the nature of the NBA is that the coach is the first one to take the heat.
Now it’s time to vote. If your team makes a coaching change this off season, do you want an experienced person hired, or would you prefer the team brings in a brand new face? Cast your vote below and feel free to give your thoughts in the comments section below.
December 12th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak directly addressed questions about the team’s point guard situation and didn’t seem too confident about finding anyone on the free agent market who could play big rotation minutes immediately (Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles):
“I think for the time being we’re going to roll with what we’ve got…To find a player that doesn’t belong to somebody right now that can come in and play in front of (Kobe Bryant), in front of Xavier Henry), in front of (Jodie Meeks), it’s unlikely…But maybe there’s a player out there that we can take a look at…It’s a good time to perhaps look at a player, but I don’t think there’s somebody that we’re going to bring in and we’re going to start or is going to play big minutes.”
As it stands, the team doesn’t appear to have any immediate plans to add a point guard via trade, free agency, or D-League call up. Here’s more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes, including more from McMenamin’s piece:
Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee reports that mayor Kevin Johnson has launched a political campaign aimed at defeating a June ballot measure in Sacramento that would require voter approval of subsidies to sports arenas. The Kings are expected to play a role in the effort along with Johnson, although team president Chris Granger said the role hasn’t been decided yet.
When specifically asked about Leandro Barbosa, as well as former Lakers Darius Morris and Chris Duhon, Kupchak said that they’re “all on the list” of players being considered.
Whether or not the Lakers decide to make a move to address their backcourt issues, ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne gets the sense that they’ll look for the best available point guard and not necessarily put a priority on those with past familiarity of Mike D’Antoni’s system. She also makes note that the team still has luxury tax considerations to factor into their decision-making (AllTwitterlinks).
Clippers coach Doc Rivers weighed in on the Nets, saying he was disappointed in how the situation between Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank developed, endorsed the idea that Paul Pierce would be willing to come off the bench, and suggested that Pierce still has plenty of basketball left in the tank beyond this season (AllTwitterlinks).
RealGM’s Jonathan Tjarks examines how Baylor center Isaiah Austin helped his draft stock after his 13-point/5-block performance against a highly touted Kentucky frontline that included Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Alex Poythress last week.