Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander wants to stick it to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
And we should all love him for it.
Ever since Sterling’s (alleged) closed-door, racially charged tirade was made public, calls to action have come in volume. Commissioner Adam Silver dropped the hammer on Tuesday, banning Sterling from the NBA for life, with every intention of forcing him to sell the Clippers.
If that doesn’t work, Alexander has a plan.
According to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen, the Rockets owner approached Silver with a potential alternative: allow Clippers players to become free agents.
From Feigen:
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander’s goal was as clear as the anger and disgust in the tone of his voice. He had heard the recording of Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist and hateful comments. He had met with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He wanted Sterling out the NBA.
Calling the comments “disgusting,” Alexander said he told Silver he should stab “a sword” into the heart of Sterling’s ownership of the Clippers.
“I thought that there’s got to be a way to disrupt him from owning the team,” said Alexander, who after 20 years owning the Rockets is one of the longest tenured owners in the NBA. “I gave him the sword to deal with this. I said, ‘Let the players become free agents.’”
Alexander said the goal of his suggestion was not to break up the Clippers, considered among the league’s top teams, or even to punish Sterling. He said the objective was solely to back Sterling into a corner from which he will choose to sell the Clippers.
Now isn’t that something?
Could you imagine if Blake Griffin and Chris Paul hit the open market? I mean, seriously. Think of the free-agency craze. And the rumors. Oh, the rumors. They would be plentiful. They would never stop. It would be madness.
It would also suck for Clippers fans.
This writer loathes Sterling, and has for quite some time. But I don’t want to see the fans suffer because of one man’s vulgar stupidity. At the same time, if the NBA cannot expunge Sterling straight up, it would be nice to see the players regain control of their own situation. They signed on with the Clippers, but not for this. They shouldn’t be forced to put their bodies at risk and their talents to work for a shameless racist.
Alexander goes on to say he spoke with Silver, who was receptive to the idea. Though it seems like a long shot, it’s still an idea. Remember, the goal should be to remove Sterling from ownership ranks by any means possible.
After Tuesday’s press conference, it doesn’t appear that this will be necessary. But it’s something Silver could keep in his back pocket, just in case Sterling fights his ruling and the NBA is unable to force him out permanently.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
