Donald Sterling Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Clippers, Billups, Blazers

July 11th, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The judge in the trial to determine whether Shelly Sterling has the right to sell the Clippers to Steve Ballmer put the proceedings on hold until later this month at the request of Donald Sterling’s lawyers, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, it’s likely that Ballmer will move back a July 15th deadline to finalize the sale, Markazi adds. Shelly Sterling said in testimony Thursday that her husband asked her to sell the team when it became apparent the league would seize control of it otherwise. Donald Sterling has said he has no intention of selling the team and has vowed a lifelong legal fight against the NBA.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Tucker, Sterling, Lakers

July 10th, 2014 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns are more likely to spend wisely this summer now that their chances of landing Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James are all but over, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Phoenix wasn’t expected to offer the max to Gordon Hayward if the team had the chance to meet with him, as was the plan before Hayward inked his offer sheet with the Hornets. Here’s more on the Suns and the rest of the Pacific Division:

Restricted free agent P.J. Tucker met Wednesday with Suns owner Robert Sarver and Jeff Hornacek, as Coro notes in the same piece, and Tucker’s reps at the Arete Sports Agency plan to continue the dialogue with the Suns today, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
The Suns originally planned to let 50th overall pick Alec Brown sign overseas for this coming season, but that was before fellow stretch power forward Channing Frye agreed to a deal with the Magic, Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough said, as Coro observes. Brown is drawing interest from a team in Spain in case he doesn’t end up on the Suns this year, according to Coro.
Donald Sterling vowed never to sell the Clippers and threatened to maintain lawsuits against the NBA for the rest of his life, making those remarks during testimony Wednesday in probate court, as Linda Deutsch of The Associated Press details. The trial continues today to determine whether Sterling’s wife, Shelly, has the right to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Kobe Bryant said he would welcome former teammate Byron Scott as coach of the Lakers, citing their “tremendously close relationship” over the years, notes Sean Lewis of The Associated Press. Bryant also said that he was “extremely proud” of the team’s efforts to rebuild its roster, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding observes.
The Lakers remain in contact with free agent Kent Bazemore, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.

Latest On Donald Sterling

July 8th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Ryan Raroque

After no-showing at a probate trial hearing involving the pending sale of the Clippers yesterday, Donald Sterling arrived in court this afternoon to testify. There are a handful of noteworthy items to pass along from some who are covering the trial today, and you can find them below:

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter) says that this case is scheduled through Thursday afternoon, and although there’s no guarantee that a ruling would be made by then, the judge clearly understands the time frame of the sale. As Linda Deutsch of the Associated Press notes, the NBA owners are expected to vote to approve Shelly Sterling’s agreement with Steve Ballmer on July 15th, which is also the day that Ballmer’s offer to buy the team is set to expire.
Donald claims that he can get between $2.5 to $5 billion if he sold the Clippers, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.

Earlier updates:

Donald had initially agreed to the sale of the team because he thought that the league would then waive the fine and lifetime ban levied against him, according to Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links).
Donald’s wife Shelly had been authorized to negotiate the sale because Donald thought that she would ultimately keep her portion of the team, tweets Shelburne.
The NBA has no plans of rescinding Donald’s lifetime ban, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Another reason why Donald is fighting the sale is that he believes he can get the same deal that the Lakers got with Time Warner and radio stations, per Shelburne (via Twitter).
Donald said that he was in the process of negotiating a TV deal with FOX at the time he was banned, says Shelburne (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Sterling, Parker, Crawford

July 1st, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Chuck Myron

Attorneys for Donald Sterling will argue that wife Shelly Sterling exerted undue influence on one of the two doctors who examined Donald and declared him mentally incompetent, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Donald’s mental competency is no longer on trial. Instead, the probate trial between the Sterlings will center on whether Shelly followed the rules of the Sterling family trust, according to Shelburne. Those rules required that two mental health experts submit letters to the effect that Donald was mentally incompetent before allowing Shelly to take full control of the trust, Shelburne writes. Shelly agreed to sell the Clippers in May to Steve Ballmer, claiming that she fully controlled the trust, but Donald is fighting the sale. Here’s more from around the league:

The Spurs kept Tony Parker through Monday, unsurprisingly, but doing so means his $3.5MM partial guarantee is now a fully guaranteed $12.5MM salary for 2014/15.
Jamal Crawford of the Clippers had his $1.5MM partial guarantee bumped to a full guarantee of $5.45MM when he remained on the roster through Monday.
Kosta Koufos remains on the Grizzlies, so his $500K partial guarantee is now a $3MM full guarantee.
Parker’s teammate Austin Daye is also still with the Spurs, so his $250K partial guarantee is a fully guaranteed minimum salary.
The Hornets kept Jeffery Taylor around, so his minimum salary went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed.
It appears as though the Magic are officially under the cap, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means Orlando loses access to a $6,077,280 trade exception it could have reaped from last week’s Arron Afflalo deal.
The Hawks didn’t give big man Gustavo Ayon a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). There weren’t reports of qualifying offers to James Southerland of the Pelicans, Adonis Thomas of the Sixers and Bernard James of the Mavs, so presumably they’re all unrestricted free agents as well.
The Wolves hired Ryan Saunders as an assistant coach, the team announced (on Twitter). Saunders, the son of Wolves head coach/executive Flip Saunders, had served the last five seasons as a Wizards assistant.

West Rumors: Sterling, Williams, Afflalo, Miller

June 30th, 2014 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

A new doctor has declared Clippers owner Donald Sterling mentally fit after a comprehensive medical examination in Las Vegas over the weekend, a source with knowledge of the situation told Shelby Lin Erdman of CNN. The testing was arranged by one of Sterling’s attorneys and conducted with one of the top dementia and Alzheimer’s disease specialists in the country. More out of the West..

Free agent Mo Williams has no meetings set with other teams and his “only goal” is to sign a new deal with the Blazers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (on Twitter).
New Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo sounds intent on exercising his opt out after the 2014/15 season. “It’s probably something that I always anticipated, even beyond when I first signed this deal with Denver,” Afflalo told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “I knew my game, I knew my maturity, I knew I would grow as a player. And I wanted to have that option as I got older and I progressed as a player. So hopefully I’ll out-perform my contract and put myself in a better situation. That was my intent from the beginning, even before this year, was to play out the four years and progress as a player.”
Grizzlies swingman Mike Miller tells Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (via Twitter) that he’s meeting with his agent tomorrow in Los Angeles before talking with four or five clubs. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies can prevent him from looking around if they come to him with the right deal.
A source tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (on Twitter) that there are four or five suitors out there for Jordan Hill, including the Rockets and Mavs. He’s not ruling out a Lakers return and will take his time through the process with an eye on a longer deal.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak says the club is putting Julius Randle through a series of physicals this week to test his foot though, right now, he doesn’t expect surgery, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
There is strong mutual interest in Vince Carter‘s return to the Mavericks, but several playoff teams are expected to express interest in the 37-year-old swingman, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Heat, Thunder, Blazers, and Raptors are among the playoff teams that are seen as potential fits for VC, according to a source.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is discussing an assistant coaching job on the staff with Luke Walton, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Lakers unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore is expected to draw interest from the Hawks, Celtics, and Suns among others, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

And-Ones: Clippers, Afflalo, Duncan

June 24th, 2014 at 11:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Clippers engaged the Magic in discussions about trading for Arron Afflalo this past spring, but were rebuffed after Orlando didn’t find L.A.’s trade offers enticing enough, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. However, there was some sense that the two clubs could later re-visit talks if they managed to get a third team involved in discussions. The Clips have been eyeing Afflalo for quite some time and came close to landing the former UCLA shooting guard last summer, according to Shelburne, who also mentions that Donald Sterling eventually nixed the negotiations.

You can find more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes below:

Spurs icon Tim Duncan revealed on “The Late Show with David Letterman” that he had briefly considered retirement shortly after winning his fifth NBA championship. “I thought about calling it a career…But I felt I could at least do one more year. I felt I was still effective. I felt I could still play and help the team” (transcription via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News).
Some NBA executives believe that the Cavaliers’ reported interest in Jabari Parker could just be a smokescreen to get other teams to ante up their trade offers for the No. 1 pick, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Among those teams is the Jazz, who are said to covet Parker if they acquired the top pick.
Both Howard Eisley and Brian Scalabrine are candidates to become assistant coaches for Doc Rivers, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Eisley has been serving as a players skills coach for the Clippers, while Scalabrine spent the latter portion of last season as a coach for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate.
Timberwolves president/head coach Flip Saunders said he’s in contact with other NBA teams on a daily basis, but was coy when specifically asked if those discussions involved Kevin Love, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press. As Greder points out, Saunders said he’s comfortable with the current roster, including Love. “I don’t know about the prospects of us trading anybody by Thursday night…I feel comfortable with the guys that we have. If we can get something that makes our team better, we’ll do it. If we don’t, we’ll stay pat and move forward and enter into free agency on July 1.”

Western Notes: Randolph, Sterling, Jazz

June 24th, 2014 at 8:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains the odd circumstance concerning Zach Randolph‘s player option with the Grizzlies next season. According to the current CBA, a player cannot earn less money in a player option year relative to how much he made in the previous season. As it currently stands, Randolph will make $16.5MM if he decided to opt in for 2014/15, which is considerably lower than the $17.8MM he made in 2013/14.

Tim Duncan had a similar issue in his contract with the Spurs, as his player option for the upcoming year was initially less than what he made this past season. While Duncan’s contract was ultimately modified to address the error, Randolph’s remains unchanged simply because the contract had been signed too long ago, Deeks hears. Randolph and Memphis reportedly are moving toward a multi-year deal, but if he opts in and the deal winds up coming in the form of an extension, Randolph’s missing money will come into play.

Here are more noteworthy links to pass along tonight:

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge said that the terms of the Sterling family trust may give Donald Sterling little room to challenge the finding that he is mentally incapable of continuing as co-owner of the Clippers, writes James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. This would appear to give Shelly Sterling the advantage in her case to affirm both her control of the trust and sale of the team.
The Jazz announced the additions of Brad Jones, Antonio Lang, Alex Jensen, Mike Wells, and Johnnie Bryant to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff. Jones will be Snyder’s lead assistant, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
Maccabi Tel Aviv has opted out of its contract with Joe Ingles, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Back in March, we passed along that Ingles was considering a move to the NBA this summer. The Grizzlies and Jazz were among the Western Conference teams reported to have interest in the Australian-born forward.

Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay

June 19th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.

Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).

NBA Poised To Countersue Donald Sterling

June 13th, 2014 at 8:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:40pm: A confidant of Donald Sterling claims the investigative firms already have uncovered allegations of racial discrimination by NBA officials that are as bad as comments Sterling made suggesting he did not want to see blacks at Clippers games, reports James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times.

11:58am: There’s a “good chance” that the NBA will file a countersuit against Donald Sterling, who’s pushing forward with a $1 billion lawsuit against the league, sources tell Michael McCann of SI.com. The league is set to respond to Sterling on June 23rd, according to McCann. It’s unclear precisely what the league would seek from Sterling in the suit.

Donald Sterling has hired four private investigation firms to try to uncover evidence of misconduct among the NBA and owners of the other 29 clubs, as Tami Abdollah of The Associated Press and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com report. The firms received budgets in excess of $100K to pore over the league’s finances and its compensation for David Stern and Adam Silver, examine previous allegations of discrimination, and look into whether any other owners have made insensitive remarks, Abdollah writes. The league is prepared to argue that it has a strong record of promoting diversity in the workplace, a source tells McCann.

Sterling’s lawsuit against the NBA seeks only monetary relief, and it’s not directly aimed at allowing him to remain as owner, as McCann points out. Sterling’s attempt to continue to control the Clippers centers on a probate court hearing next month that will determine whether his wife acted within her rights to unilaterally agree to sell the Clippers to Steve Ballmer via the Sterling family trust, as previous reports have detailed.

If the court rules that Shelly Sterling did not have that right, the NBA will seek to strip control of the Clippers from the Sterlings, as McCann details. The league would likely invoke a clause in its constitution that would allow the NBA to take over the franchise itself if three-quarters of the league’s other owners vote to take the team away from the Sterlings, according to McCann. The league would then look to sell the team to new ownership, and sources tell McCann that the NBA might invite other bids rather than simply turn the team over to Ballmer. The proceeds from the sale, minus expenses the NBA incurred as it conducted the bidding, would still eventually wind up going to the Sterlings, McCann writes.

Latest On Clippers, Sterlings

June 11th, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

Donald Sterling’s on-again, off-again battle with the NBA is apparently on again, as the banned Clippers owner apparently intends to push forward with a lawsuit against the league. We’ll pass along updates as they come in, with the latest on top:

Shelburne clarifies that the September 15th deadline is outlined in Ballmer’s purchase agreement as the date by which the sale must close. Ballmer would have the option of pulling out of the deal if the sale hasn’t been finalized by that date, but he’s given no indication he would do so, sources tell Shelburne.

Earlier updates:

Shelly Sterling’s deal with Ballmer allows her the option to retain up to a 10% stake in the team that would be controlled by a charitable foundation she runs, report Nathan Fenno and James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. She has until June 15th to decide whether to take that option or sell 100% of the club, Fenno and Rainey add. Ballmer would have some input on the foundation, but Shelly Sterling would serve as chair, according to the Times scribes. Ballmer would have the majority interest in the Clippers either way, but the league was reportedly unwilling to OK the sale of the Clippers unless the Sterlings divested themselves of the entire team.
Shelly Sterling’s request to expedite her probate court hearing was denied, as Donald Sterling attorney Bobby Samini tells Shelburne (Twitter link). The hearing, which will determine whether Shelly Sterling has the power to sell the Clippers without her husband’s consent, will take place from July 7th through 10th, and that’s in advance of a previously scheduled Board of Governors meeting, Shelburne tweets. The NBA could vote to approve the sale to Steve Ballmer during that meeting if the court sides with Shelly Sterling.
The documents Shelly Sterling filed in court today asked that the hearing be sped up so that the sale of the team to Ballmer could close before September 15th, according to Shelburne (Twitter links). It’s unclear if that deadline is league-imposed or otherwise, but the NBA has threatened to revive its plans to convene the Board of Governors in a special meeting to vote on forcibly stripping the team from the Sterlings.
Commissioner Adam Silver expressed some anxiety about the timetable in an interview with ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” today (transcription via ESPN.com). “To me, I’m concerned it’s going to delay Steve Ballmer taking over the Clippers,” Silver said. “The team is sort of a little bit in limbo right now. We have Dick Parsons in right now as the interim CEO. He’s a terrific guy. But of course, I can understand from a player’s perspective — they’re going into a draft, they’re going into free agency. The guys want to know where they stand. So we’d like everything to just be clear, so everybody understands how this team is moving forward. That’s my concern, that it just seems unsettled.”
Donald Sterling would have to challenge his wife in probate court if he were to mount an effective fight against the league, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Max Blecher, one of his attorneys, suggested that he indeed intends to go after Shelly Sterling in probate court, Shelburne adds (Twitter link). Shelly Sterling plans to seek an emergency probate court order to expedite the hearing, Shelburne also tweets.
Shelly Sterling receives the title of “owner emeritus” of the Clippers, two tickets to all Clippers home games and five parking spots as part of her $2 billion deal to sell the team to Steve Ballmer, reports Scott Cacciola of The New York Times. Sterling also gets three championship rings if the Clippers win a title, Cacciola adds.
Shelly Sterling’s lawyer was aware when Donald Sterling underwent neurological testing in May of a provision in the Sterling family trust that would allow her to take over if Donald Sterling was found incapacitated, Cacciola writes. Still, Shelly Sterling attempted to persuade her husband to agree to sell the team before she resorted to using the clause in the trust, according to Cacciola.
Ballmer felt from the start that he’d have to make a bid that was far and away the best one in order to ensure he’d land the Clippers, Cacciola hears. Shelly Sterling made keeping the team in Los Angeles a condition of her deal with Ballmer, the Times scribe adds.
Ballmer’s initial bid was $1.925 billion, and Shelly Sterling pushed him to add the $75MM that brought it to $2 billion, according to Cacciola. He didn’t know until after that point about the clause in the Sterling family trust that allowed Shelly Sterling to unilaterally arrange for the sale, Cacciola reports.