NBA Playoffs thread

[sandiego17]

The new staged leaked recording is phenomenal. No shame.

"You think I'm a racist?" he says. "You think I have anything in the world but love for everybody? You don't think that! You know I'm not a racist!"

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

"But I'm talking to a girl. I'm trying to have sex with her. I'm trying to play with her. If you ever wanna have sex with a girl and you're talking to her privately, you don't think anyone's there, you may say anything in the world. What difference does it make?"

"I wish Magic Johnson was talking to a girl and he was trying to play with her. And he might say anything. You might say you have the biggest penis in the world. I might say I could fly over a highrise building if I had to."

I also like the way he claims he was president of his high school in East LA that was heavily black and hispanic and "they must've liked me and I'm a Jew!"

[sandiego17]

"But I'm talking to a girl. I'm trying to have sex with her. I'm trying to play with her. If you ever wanna have sex with a girl and you're talking to her privately, you don't think anyone's there, you may say anything in the world. What difference does it make?"

"I wish Magic Johnson was talking to a girl and he was trying to play with her. And he might say anything. You might say you have the biggest penis in the world. I might say I could fly over a highrise building if I had to."

I also like the way he claims he was president of his high school in East LA that was heavily black and hispanic and "they must've liked me and I'm a Jew!"

There is very little that needs to be added, everything about Sterling is in full display. This new leaked tape is highly entertaining.

Still not sure how asking her to take down a tweeted picture of Magic and her because he's black is going to help him have sex with her, but I've been married for 11 years, way before twitter. Maybe that's what girls like to hear now? Donald T. would know.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Keep talking, DTS. Please keep talking.

BTW, he actually seems incoherent on all of these tapes. I wonder if there isn't maybe some dementia or substance abuse going on. He's 80 and he's got prostate cancer, so those are reasonable possibilities. Of course, some of this sort of talk preceded those things.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Still not sure how asking her to take down a tweeted picture of Magic and her because he's black is going to help him have sex with her, but I've been married for 11 years, way before twitter. Maybe that's what girls like to hear now? Donald T. would know.

Girls get all amped up over incoherent racist ramblings.

[sandiego17]

Girls get all amped up over incoherent racist ramblings.

The Bentleys and the house didn't work, but racist ramblings will help him bed a women who is half black. Brilliant. I don't know if he's incoherent, I think he thinks most people are idiots and he can get one over on them.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

In other news, helluva comeback for the Clips. Big win.

[Coachmarkos]

That was a big win for the Clips.

And all those guys who wrote off the Pacers in round one are scrambling to cover their butts. All of a sudden, they look good again. Sometimes teams struggle for whatever reason, but they never struggle as much as the "jump the gun" -itis that sportswriters need to have in the modern age.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

That was a big win for the Clips.

And all those guys who wrote off the Pacers in round one are scrambling to cover their butts. All of a sudden, they look good again. Sometimes teams struggle for whatever reason, but they never struggle as much as the "jump the gun" -itis that sportswriters need to have in the modern age.

I'll be honest, I wrote 'em off. They played like gash for a month.

[oneinchpunch]

Agents on Donald Sterling's Clippers: Some players 'just won’t go there now'

May 12, 2014 9:05am EDT
Sean Deveney

If the NBA can’t pry loose the Clippers franchise from estranged owner Donald Sterling—despite the best efforts of the league to remove the team from his control—there will be consequences in terms of personnel, multiple player agents told Sporting News.

“You have to appreciate all that the NBA has done in this situation, what Adam Silver and the other owners are trying to do,” one prominent agent said, requesting anonymity because of possible future interactions with the team. “They came down hard on the guy, as they should have.


"But I know I have players who just won’t go there now, not until Sterling is gone completely. If there is even a chance that you’re going to help that guy make even one dime, a lot of guys are not going to go play there. It is going to be something they will have to deal with when July comes around.”

July, of course, marks the start of free agency, and there is no telling what the Clippers will look like then. But one thing that has become increasingly clear—there is virtually no chance that the team will be entirely out of Sterling’s clutches by then.

Sterling was taped in a racist rant in which he requested that his girlfriend not be photographed with black people, and that she not bring black people to Clippers games.

In the wake of the release of that tape through the website TMZ back on May 3, commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the league for life, and the league’s other owners moved to force Sterling to sell the team, citing a provision in the league constitution that provides for that option if it is backed by three-quarters of the owners.

But Sterling has owned the Clippers since 1981, and considers the team an essential part of his identity. Those around him knew he would not sell the team without a legal fight—one that figures to be long and messy.

On Sunday, in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, Sterling’s wife, Shelly, said she wanted to keep control of the team and attempted to distance herself from her husband. The NBA later released a statement saying, essentially, that Shelly Sterling’s involvement with the team would be unacceptable.

Shortly thereafter, details of Sterling’s interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper were released, in which Sterling claimed he was sorry and that he was “baited” into making the taped comments. More important, according to CNN’s transcript, Sterling said, “Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It’s a terrible mistake, and I’ll never do it again.”

That does not sound like a man ready to give up his ownership stake. If Sterling’s fellow owners decide not to forgive him this mistake, there could be a lengthy legal battle that follows.

That’s where things get dicey for the NBA—which appointed respected executive Dick Parsons as the Clippers’ interim CEO on Friday—and its players. It is unlikely that players under contract with the Clippers would have any recourse to break their deals, because technically, the Clippers are under control of the league at this time.

But free agents will have a choice.

“I don’t think the whole thing winds up with Sterling back in charge, that is just hard to imagine,” another agent told SN. “There’s the chance, though. There’s a chance you wind up working for Sterling. That’s the problem.

"And there is also a feeling like, ‘Hey, the league let this guy do his thing for 30 years and they’re only doing something about him now? Why would I go there?’”

Much of this depends on how Clippers coach Doc Rivers proceeds. With the Clippers embroiled in a tied Western Conference semifinal against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Rivers has tried to push the Sterling controversy to the side, and was noncommittal about what he’d do if Shelly Sterling took over the team.

Rivers was pleased with the reaction of Silver and the league to Sterling’s comments, and most sources around the league feel that even if the Sterling situation is not resolved legally this summer, Rivers will not leave the team.

He has been given full control of personnel decisions—significant power for a coach—and invested much in leading not only his players, but the entire front office of the Clippers, through this crisis. As long as the NBA is making the effort to rid itself of Sterling, Rivers figures to be satisfied.

That might soften some players toward the Clippers—Rivers can be a persuasive recruiter, and the Clippers will feature star point guard and union president Chris Paul.

But not all. “I can tell you that there are players who will cross them off the list before free agency even starts,” the first agent said. “This was really personal for some guys, and I mean guys who are not Clippers or never been Clippers. It’s just hard and not everyone is going to want to walk into that situation. The damage has been done.”

And that damage will linger into the summer.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Agents on Donald Sterling's Clippers: Some players 'just won’t go there now'

May 12, 2014 9:05am EDT
Sean Deveney

If the NBA can’t pry loose the Clippers franchise from estranged owner Donald Sterling—despite the best efforts of the league to remove the team from his control—there will be consequences in terms of personnel, multiple player agents told Sporting News.

“You have to appreciate all that the NBA has done in this situation, what Adam Silver and the other owners are trying to do,” one prominent agent said, requesting anonymity because of possible future interactions with the team. “They came down hard on the guy, as they should have.


"But I know I have players who just won’t go there now, not until Sterling is gone completely. If there is even a chance that you’re going to help that guy make even one dime, a lot of guys are not going to go play there. It is going to be something they will have to deal with when July comes around.”

July, of course, marks the start of free agency, and there is no telling what the Clippers will look like then. But one thing that has become increasingly clear—there is virtually no chance that the team will be entirely out of Sterling’s clutches by then.

Sterling was taped in a racist rant in which he requested that his girlfriend not be photographed with black people, and that she not bring black people to Clippers games.

In the wake of the release of that tape through the website TMZ back on May 3, commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling from the league for life, and the league’s other owners moved to force Sterling to sell the team, citing a provision in the league constitution that provides for that option if it is backed by three-quarters of the owners.

But Sterling has owned the Clippers since 1981, and considers the team an essential part of his identity. Those around him knew he would not sell the team without a legal fight—one that figures to be long and messy.

On Sunday, in an interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters, Sterling’s wife, Shelly, said she wanted to keep control of the team and attempted to distance herself from her husband. The NBA later released a statement saying, essentially, that Shelly Sterling’s involvement with the team would be unacceptable.

Shortly thereafter, details of Sterling’s interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper were released, in which Sterling claimed he was sorry and that he was “baited” into making the taped comments. More important, according to CNN’s transcript, Sterling said, “Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? It’s a terrible mistake, and I’ll never do it again.”

That does not sound like a man ready to give up his ownership stake. If Sterling’s fellow owners decide not to forgive him this mistake, there could be a lengthy legal battle that follows.

That’s where things get dicey for the NBA—which appointed respected executive Dick Parsons as the Clippers’ interim CEO on Friday—and its players. It is unlikely that players under contract with the Clippers would have any recourse to break their deals, because technically, the Clippers are under control of the league at this time.

But free agents will have a choice.

“I don’t think the whole thing winds up with Sterling back in charge, that is just hard to imagine,” another agent told SN. “There’s the chance, though. There’s a chance you wind up working for Sterling. That’s the problem.

"And there is also a feeling like, ‘Hey, the league let this guy do his thing for 30 years and they’re only doing something about him now? Why would I go there?’”

Much of this depends on how Clippers coach Doc Rivers proceeds. With the Clippers embroiled in a tied Western Conference semifinal against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Rivers has tried to push the Sterling controversy to the side, and was noncommittal about what he’d do if Shelly Sterling took over the team.

Rivers was pleased with the reaction of Silver and the league to Sterling’s comments, and most sources around the league feel that even if the Sterling situation is not resolved legally this summer, Rivers will not leave the team.

He has been given full control of personnel decisions—significant power for a coach—and invested much in leading not only his players, but the entire front office of the Clippers, through this crisis. As long as the NBA is making the effort to rid itself of Sterling, Rivers figures to be satisfied.

That might soften some players toward the Clippers—Rivers can be a persuasive recruiter, and the Clippers will feature star point guard and union president Chris Paul.

But not all. “I can tell you that there are players who will cross them off the list before free agency even starts,” the first agent said. “This was really personal for some guys, and I mean guys who are not Clippers or never been Clippers. It’s just hard and not everyone is going to want to walk into that situation. The damage has been done.”

And that damage will linger into the summer.

Uh, isn't this a 'Lakeshow' topic? You seem really flummoxed by the two threads.

This is a basketball thread focused on what's happening in the playoffs. That other one is for your pathetic trolling and weird preoccupations. Keep up.

[oneinchpunch]

PBT:

Doc Rivers knows he is close. Whatever happens in the final three games against the Thunder (and maybe beyond that)

Rivers knows that his Clippers team is a legitimate contender, one of the four best teams in the NBA, and a team just a couple of roster tweaks away from maybe being THE team to beat next year.

However, making those roster tweaks may not be that simple if Donald or Shelly Sterling still own the team.

While frankly it should have been this way for years, many NBA players now see the Clippers as a toxic organization in the wake of Sterling’s racist comments, one they will not go near until an ownership change. While the league is pushing to make that happen soon, it likely is not done by this summer.

Sean Deveney at the Sporting News did an excellent piece speaking to multiple agents about the Clippers and sending free agent players there.

“You have to appreciate all that the NBA has done in this situation, what Adam Silver and the other owners are trying to do,” one prominent agent said, requesting anonymity because of possible future interactions with the team. “They came down hard on the guy, as they should have.

“But I know I have players who just won’t go there now, not until Sterling is gone completely. If there is even a chance that you’re going to help that guy make even one dime, a lot of guys are not going to go play there. It is going to be something they will have to deal with when July comes around.”
July 1 is the start of NBA free agency.

While Donald Sterling publicly apologized for his racist rant, while his wife Shelly has tried to distance herself from him and what was said, both of them are also gearing up for a legal fight. This is going to drag out and it’s hard to see how it’s resolved before free agency begins.

“I don’t think the whole thing winds up with Sterling back in charge, that is just hard to imagine,” another agent told SN.

“There’s the chance, though. There’s a chance you wind up working for Sterling. That’s the problem. And there is also a feeling like, ‘Hey, the league let this guy do his thing for 30 years and they’re only doing something about him now? Why would I go there?’”

It’s easy to say that now. It will be different once the money is on the table. A lot of people have rock solid principles until the money is on the table.

Unfortunately for him, this all falls on Rivers. Assuming he doesn’t quit (he might, but it’s unlikely if the sale is moving forward), Rivers will go into July with a plan, he will have Chris Paul and Blake Griffin (who can’t break their contracts) to help him recruit. It’s a great pitch: Come to a warm-weather team in a great city where you will get the chance to contend.

And when the response is “Sterling still owns the team” Rivers can do nothing but shrug.