Let me think a moment...
Who would be a less popular team owner than Sterling?
Hmmm...
Posted on 05/27/2014 5:29:55 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Shelly Sterling has had inquiries from at least six serious buyers interested in the Los Angeles NBA team, including former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Following reports on Thursday that Shelly Sterling will negotiate the forced sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling's wife has already received inquiries from six potential buyers, according to ESPN.
Among those interested in the NBA team is former Microsoft CEO and multi-billionaire, Steve Ballmer, who met with her on Sunday to discuss a sale.
It is not the first sign of interest that Ballmer has shown in a basketball franchise. He was part of the effort to bring an NBA team back to Seattle following the move of the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder in 2008.
"If the opportunity is outside of Seattle, so be it. I will learn about any team that comes up for sale at this point," he told the Wall Street Journal last week. "If I get interested in the Clippers, it would be for Los Angeles," he said, vowing that he would not move the team to the Pacific Northwest.
"I don't work anymore, so I have more geographic flexibility than I did a year, year and a half ago. Moving them anywhere else would be value-destructive."
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
Squeeze ‘em for the biggest price you can, babe.
The 5% Nation will be new owners? Nothing controversial there
Lol
Let me think a moment...
Who would be a less popular team owner than Sterling?
Hmmm...
Once some of the lawyers for other team owners read the response from Sterling’s lawyer; there is going to be a lot less enthusiasm for trying to force a sale.
The Sterlings are positioning themselves for a HUGE payout for selling the team.
- The team has the worst record of any team in professional sports since it moved to LA from San Diego in 1984.
- The NBA is hemorrhaging blue-collar and white middle-class fans. Sure, hip-hop celebrities and Hollywood stars will see the Clippers at the Staples Center, but who is going to see them on the road?
- Getting back to previous point about the blue and middle-class fans leaving - there isn't enough money from hip-hop celebrities to keep the league afloat. And poor low-income blacks will surely not spend $100 just to go to the game.
All in all, this is a league in decline. But hey...Sterling should get PAID out the ass and laugh when the league becomes defunct within ten years like the ABA did.
The smart thing to do would be to get a sale, if it can be structured to avoid harsh tax consequences, and if it can get maximum value for the franchise. Sterling can't come back to the league without all kinds of continuing problems with the fan base, players and media, but he doesn't want to be forced out at gunpoint, either. A resolution makes sense--again, if tax issues don't intrude. If it is better that the team go through probate, and there is no way to structure something that doesn't lose the family hundreds of millions of dollars, well then, all bets are off.
JMO.
What I don’t understand is why Sterling doesn’t go into HIS office. Just what can the NBA do to stop him? It’s his property.
The only possible reason he hasn’t is contained in his attorney’s response when it stated that Sterling not being able to go to his office prevents him from gaining access to documents that would assist in his defense to the action by the NBA. That point will be raised in any lawsuit Sterling files against the league.
I suspect the NBA attorneys are scrambing to find a way to make this problem go away.
I go to a few NBA games a year with tickets given to me. $100 is not going to get you a very good seat.
As for the Clippers, the Lakers are a train wreck and they aren’t going to get better anytime soon.
Sports franchises around the world are skyrocketing in value, some extremely wealthy want the status of owning a team, especially in a big glamorous market like Los Angeles. The Clippers are a very good team in such a market and it’s the only team for sale in the NBA right now.
RE: The team has the worst record of any team in professional sports since it moved to LA from San Diego in 1984.
The team made the playoffs this year and almost defeated the Oklahoma Thunder.
It has two of the most entertaining and dominant players in the NBA — Chris Paul ( arguably the best point guard in the league ) and Blake Griffin.
I didn’t understand that, either. I couldn’t figure out how they could prevent him from entering a building that he presumably owned or rented. Only thing I could figure is that the NBA is on every team lease, like a co-signor. Or that Sterling agreed to go along with their decision to prevent him from having access (not like him to go along). I hope that gets clarified at some point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.