The pending sale of the Los Angeles
Clippers and ouster of disgraced owner Donald Sterling might not be
official by the start of the NBA season in October.
Commissioner Adam Silver confessed to the potential for a lagging
resolution to the planned sale to Steve Ballmer because of litigious
hurdles that are becoming unpredictable. Certainty is hard to come
by with the courts playing a role in the end game.
"I'm not sure," Silver said. "Because we're not actually a party to
those proceedings, and while I'm following the litigation and we
have a lawyer in the courtroom who's giving us regular reports on
it, they're in recess right now. At least based on my understanding
of how it has proceeded, certainly Shelly (Sterling), it appears
that she's done all the right things as set out in their trust
agreement."
The NBA Board of Governors cannot approve the sale to Ballmer, a
former CEO at Microsoft who made a $2 billion bid and signed a
binding agreement with Shelly Sterling, while it is being contested
in court.
---Silver said the league is considering an in-season, neutral-site
tournament.
"Very early days in the discussion of that, but we're looking at
other opportunities in the league to create excitement," Silver said
Wednesday at a Board of Governors meeting press conference in Las
Vegas.
"As one of our general managers said at the meeting, there's very
few things that you can win in the NBA. I mean, when you think about
European soccer, for example, they have the FA Cup and they have
other tournaments throughout the season, so I could imagine if we
were to look at some sort of midseason tournament I would imagine
doing something in Vegas. This would be a terrific neutral site
location."
The tournament would require approval of the NBA players
association, which means it likely cannot be introduced until a new
collective bargaining agreement is established. Players
participating deep into the playoffs already are logging more than
100 games in a season.
---Michael Jordan promised star power in free agency, and the
Charlotte Hornets owner is on the verge of landing Indiana Pacers
guard Lance Stephenson.
ESPN reported Jordan, general manager Rich Cho, head coach Steve
Clifford and assistant coach Patrick Ewing met with Stephenson in
Las Vegas on Tuesday and worked out a three-year deal that could pay
him up to $27 million.
Stephenson was offered a five-year, $44 million deal to stay with
the Pacers on July 1 but declined the deal, viewing it as another
sign that Indiana undervalued his contribution to a team with
consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals.
---Head coach Erik Spoelstra is happy for LeBron James, he said in
his first public comments since the Miami Heat lost the four-time
MVP in free agency.
"He seemed at peace with the decision," Spoelstra said in Las Vegas
at the Heat's summer league appearance. "We don't have any regrets.
He shouldn't have any regrets. It was a historic four-year run."
James signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers but in
an essay written last week said the decision was more about being a
presence in his home state and the Akron region than it was
basketball.
---The Golden State Warriors agreed to a two-year deal worth $2.5
million with guard Brandon Rush, according to reports.
Yahoo Sports reported that Rush will have a player option after the
first year. It will be Rush's second stint in Golden State, where he
played from 2011-13. He is a career 40.9 percent 3-point shooter.
---The Oklahoma City Thunder announced the signing of free agent
guard Anthony Morrow, a deal that was reported by the Associated
Press over the weekend to be for three years and $10 million.
Morrow has averaged 10.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game through
six NBA seasons. He played for New Orleans in 2013-14, and is a
career 43 percent three-point shooter.
---The Washington Wizards were finalizing a sign-and-trade deal with
the Dallas Mavericks to acquire forward DeJuan Blair, according to
multiple reports.
Blair averaged 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in a reserve
role for the Mavericks last season. On Wednesday, he tweeted simply:
"DC!!"
---The Phoenix Suns agreed to a two-year deal with free agent
forward Anthony Tolliver worth a reported $6 million.
Tolliver, 29, has averaged 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in six NBA
seasons, and is expected to help fill the void created by the
free-agent departure of Channing Frye. Tolliver averaged 6.1 points,
2.6 rebounds and shot 41.3 percent from three-point range for the
Charlotte Hornets last season.
---Former Miami Heat forward James Jones signed a one-year deal
worth the league minimum to reunite with LeBron James as a member of
the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jones, 6-foot-8, 215, is an 11-year veteran and 40-percent career
3-point shooter.
---Veteran forward Rashard Lewis signed a one-year veteran's minimum
contract with the Mavericks.
Lewis started eight games in the 2014 playoffs with the Miami Heat,
but averaged a career-low 4.5 points in the regular season.
---Carmelo Anthony gave the New York Knicks a hometown discount.
Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday night that the star
forward's new deal is not for the maximum money allowed under the
NBA's collective-bargaining agreement.
Anthony's five-year, $124 million contract is $5 million below the
maximum he could have received, giving the Knicks extra cash to
pursue additional pieces. Anthony also reportedly received a
no-trade clause in his contract.
