As parties of every ilk with money scramble like ants on sweet bread in the fallout from the Donald Sterling-Clippers controversy, some names are now being dropped as to who might be in the bidding to purchase The Clippers IF the NBA’s Adam Silver is successful in “encouraging” Sterling to sell.
ESPN sports and business analyst, Darren Rovell, breaks down what the Clippers could be worth and how difficult it might be for the NBA to get Donald Sterling to sell the team.
Next thing to consider is who should own The Clippers?
Oprah Winfrey, film studio exec and business magnate David Geffen and Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison are forming a partnership together in a bid to buy the team if the NBA’s board of governors votes to force Sterling to sell, according to Geffen, who spoke with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap on Wednesday.
Geffen said he and Ellison would run the team, while Winfrey would be an investor.
And check this: David Geffen also told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap that LeBron James was interested in playing in Los Angeles when he was a free agent in 2010. But James, who ultimately signed with the Heat, told Geffen he wouldn’t play for Sterling.
Seems he (James) knew something the others didn’t (or didn’t care to react to) even then.
“Oprah is not interested in running the team,” Geffen told Schaap. “She thinks it would be a great thing for an important black American to own [another] franchise.
“The team deserves a better group of owners who want to win. Larry would sooner die than fail. I would sooner die than fail. Larry’s a sportsman. We’ve talked about this for a long time. Between the three of us, we have a good shot.”
Winfrey’s spokesperson, Nicole Nichols, issued the statement below confirming Geffen’s claim.
“Oprah Winfrey is in discussions with David Geffen and Larry Ellison to make a bid for the Los Angeles Clippers should the team become available,” Nichols said in the statement.
There’s a lot more to this story. Find out what else is brewing at ESPN.
via EURWeb
