What at first appeared to be a smooth process to remove Donald Sterling as owner of the Clippers has turned into something of a nightmare for the NBA. Initially, Sterling seemed fine with Steve Ballmer’s $2 million bid, but he has completely reversed course and will fight this until the very end.
The flip side of this is that players and coaches will not want to be associated with Clippers if Sterling is still the owner. That means, for the best interest of the league, this needs to conclude with Sterling being removed by the start of next season because it’s not inconcievable that players will refuse to play. However, league commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t sound confident Sterling being removed before then.
“I can not say with certainty (that the team will transfer ownership by the start of next season), and I can’t say it with certainty because it’s in the hands of the probate court right now and Donald is in the process of suing us for lots of money and we’re defending ourselves against those lawsuits,” Silver said. “It’s very difficult to say anything with certainty in a situation like this. I can say with certainty (that) we are doing everything within in our power to move Donald out as an owner in the NBA. And as I said, if the probate ruling doesn’t go in our favor we’ll recommence our procedures under termination (of Sterling’s ownership).”
H/T: USA Today
