Ka-Boom!! Adam Silver hammers Sterling

[MU82]

If Silver was in charge at the time would he have had such a large punishment for Tim Hardaway and his comments on hating gay people? Equality, right? http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2766213

Did Hardaway have a longstanding history of making derogatory statements? Did he have to make legal settlements to satisfy discrimination claims in his past? Was he in a position of power, thereby letting him use his draconian views in hiring, promoting, etc. Was Hardaway in charge of an entire franchise and therefore subject to NBA bylaws?

Hardaway made ignorant comments and shouldn't get a free pass. But please.

I'm guessing you actually are too smart to equate these two extremely dissimilar situations. You were just fishing for reaction, and congratulations ... you got mine.

Clearly, the NBA for too long turned a blind eye to Sterling's racism. This obviously was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

[AlienWarrior]

Does anyone think there may be a bunch of people protesting outside of Staples arena tonight?

[ChicosBailBonds]

The Bucks just agreed to be sold for $550k.  With the impending TV contract, I can see $1.5B being closer to the actual price.

Their TV contract is an entirely different issue which may work against them.  Just ask the Dodgers out here in LaLa land.  No way they can start their own RSN, they are with Fox now and Fox knows this as well.  So they either stick with Fox, or they try to join the Lakers network or new Dodgers network (that everyone but the owner has refused to carry to the public).  Problem there is Time Warner owns those networks and they are going through the Comcast merger right now and they can't even get MSOs to take the Dodgers, so their willingness to take on more debt to grab the Clippers would be an interesting, and risky move.

[ChicosBailBonds]

If Silver was in charge at the time would he have had such a large punishment for Tim Hardaway and his comments on hating gay people? Equality, right? http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2766213

That was brought up here today on sports radio...what is Silver going to do the first time a player makes racist statements, etc.   Plenty of interesting reactions to that question on the radio, including some mental gymnastics that are always fun to watch people go through.

[Bocephys]

Is Simmons going to buy the team?  Reporters, like fans are always good at spending other people's money and telling others what they should pay for something.

Are the Clippers worth 300% the price Kohl sold the Bucks for last week?  Same league, same TV contract, same players same salary cap.  And both the Bucks and Clippers have sucked forever until the Clippers drafted Blake Griffin?

Can the difference between Milwaukee and LA really be $1 billion?  Or is it Blake Griffin?  If so, why is he not getting $100 or $200 million a year if he matters that much?

Probably because the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement limits what players can be paid.  See James, LeBron.  I think it clears a billion easily.

[MU82]

That was brought up here today on sports radio...what is Silver going to do the first time a player makes racist statements, etc.   Plenty of interesting reactions to that question on the radio, including some mental gymnastics that are always fun to watch people go through.

As I said a few comments earlier, it's not close to the same thing. Not even in the same universe.

[Tugg Speedman]

Probably because the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement limits what players can be paid.  See James, LeBron.  I think it clears a billion easily.

So when the collective bargaining agreement expires the players and the owners will be so far apart we could see a season or two wiped out?  Not just 25 games like two years ago.

If Lebron is worth a billion and he is getting $20 million,, he will be looking for a 50x raise ... and so will everyone else.

[Tums Festival]

Not forced to sell.  Silver does not have that authority. 

Banned for life.  That means no attending games, practice or making business decisions about the team.

Not sure what this means ... might be like tossing a baseball manager from a game.  All that means is he goes from managing the team from the dugout to managing the team from the tunnel.

Of course he will continue to "run the team," just in a more discreet form.

Ban includes Sterling can't attend any NBA games, be present in any NBA facility, cannot make decisions for the team, not allowed to attend league meetings, cannot be present at Clippers HQ. He pretty much can't do anything at all team or league related.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Probably because the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement limits what players can be paid.  See James, LeBron.  I think it clears a billion easily.

Correct on part one.  On the billion, we'll see.  They have to monetize that somehow, and television deal makers are in no mood to do those deals anymore because it is driving television consumer bills up too much. How do they pay for the $1B is the question.  Interesting times.

End of the day, likely a win win for some, just like Frank McCourt with the Dodgers.  Sterling is going to make a ton, sad as that is to say.  The NBA will probably be able to exert enough pressure to get him out.  The fans, they could be on the outs like the Dodgers fans are today. 

In a related story.  The LA Times here has been on the rampage the last few days about this, understandably so.  Yet they are still accepting Sterling's advertising $$ (he's a big advertiser every week) so they're now being pulled into this.

[mikekinsellaMVP]

Under the terms of Paragraph 13 of the constitution, the owners can terminate another owner's franchise with a vote of three-fourths of the NBA Board of Governors.

...

If three-fourths of the board members vote to terminate, then Sterling would face termination of his ownership.

Some ambiguous language here.  Is the franchise liquidated, or would Sterling just lose the team?

The Bucks just agreed to be sold for $550k.  With the impending TV contract, I can see $1.5B being closer to the actual price.

I knew the Bucks were bad, but $550 grand?  Sign me up for a second mortgage!

[MU82]

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, one of the best sports reporters in the country and a guy who is extremely well-sourced, says a bidding war will push the price of the Clippers to more than $1 billion. He also quotes a source as saying Silver has all the votes he needs among owners to get rid of Sterling.

[brandx]

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, one of the best sports reporters in the country and a guy who is extremely well-sourced, says a bidding war will push the price of the Clippers to more than $1 billion. He also quotes a source as saying Silver has all the votes he needs among owners to get rid of Sterling.

I think that is right. Forbes' guesses on a franchise's worth means nothing. They don't set the price on the Clippers any more than they did on the Bucks.

These franchises are money trees. People will pay to get their hands on that tree.

[Tums Festival]

Correct on part one.  On the billion, we'll see.  They have to monetize that somehow, and television deal makers are in no mood to do those deals anymore because it is driving television consumer bills up too much. How do they pay for the $1B is the question.  Interesting times.

End of the day, likely a win win for some, just like Frank McCourt with the Dodgers.  Sterling is going to make a ton, sad as that is to say.  The NBA will probably be able to exert enough pressure to get him out.  The fans, they could be on the outs like the Dodgers fans are today. 

In a related story.  The LA Times here has been on the rampage the last few days about this, understandably so.  Yet they are still accepting Sterling's advertising $$ (he's a big advertiser every week) so they're now being pulled into this.

How are the Dodgers on the outs with the fans? They're leading MLB in attendance so far this season.

[Newsdreams]

Correct on part one.  On the billion, we'll see.  They have to monetize that somehow, and television deal makers are in no mood to do those deals anymore because it is driving television consumer bills up too much. How do they pay for the $1B is the question.  Interesting times.

End of the day, likely a win win for some, just like Frank McCourt with the Dodgers.  Sterling is going to make a ton, sad as that is to say.  The NBA will probably be able to exert enough pressure to get him out.  The fans, they could be on the outs like the Dodgers fans are today. 

In a related story.  The LA Times here has been on the rampage the last few days about this, understandably so.  Yet they are still accepting Sterling's advertising $$ (he's a big advertiser every week) so they're now being pulled into this.

True, but these guys are more in it for the power, glamour, attention, etc. etc. You know this. So it will not hurt his pocket but it will feel like a good kick in the a$$ to his ego.

[Bocephys]

So when the collective bargaining agreement expires the players and the owners will be so far apart we could see a season or two wiped out?  Not just 25 games like two years ago.

If Lebron is worth a billion and he is getting $20 million,, he will be looking for a 50x raise ... and so will everyone else.

EDIT: Nevermind, not engaging

[Tugg Speedman]

EDIT: Nevermind, not engaging

Read the statement(s) this was responding too  ... and try not to go through life responding to the last sentence of a 50 post thread ... you just make yourself look bad or lazy.

[ChicosBailBonds]

As I said a few comments earlier, it's not close to the same thing. Not even in the same universe.

I would tend to agree they are not comparable, but certainly are in the same universe.  Degrees to everything.  Are we stamping out racism, or not?  Interesting conversations about this today.  One sports attorney felt that the league will have no choice but to clamp down on that behavior as well.  Not lifetime banishments, but if stuff is on tape, tweeted, etc, racism of any kind, the league will have no choice but to come down hard and not just pretend it isn't there.  As he said, it becomes a credibility argument and also one of following through on the promise that there is zero tolerance.

[ChicosBailBonds]

How are the Dodgers on the outs with the fans? They're leading MLB in attendance so far this season.

70% of Los Angeles can't watch their games currently on television.  Last year and the previous 50 years, 100% of the market had at least the ability to, not anymore.

The poor that have no pay television subscription of any kind have 0% chance.  In years past, if they had rabbit ears, they could watch some games over the air.  That's gone as well. 

Fans are not happy.

[ChicosBailBonds]

So when the collective bargaining agreement expires the players and the owners will be so far apart we could see a season or two wiped out?  Not just 25 games like two years ago.

If Lebron is worth a billion and he is getting $20 million,, he will be looking for a 50x raise ... and so will everyone else.

Based on what?  The NBA salaries are paid for by the television deals.  The money is fixed to the deals.  There is a pool of money, not an ocean of it.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, one of the best sports reporters in the country and a guy who is extremely well-sourced, says a bidding war will push the price of the Clippers to more than $1 billion. He also quotes a source as saying Silver has all the votes he needs among owners to get rid of Sterling.

Well, if Magic and Gugenheim are involved, it could happen but doesn't mean it is smart unless you can find a sucker.  They way overpaid for the Dodgers, but hoodwinked Time Warner to give them $8B over the next 30 years for the TV rights.  Stupid money, but never underestimate the willingness of someone more stupid to bail them out.  LOL.

All it takes is one entity to say it is worth a billion, and that's what it becomes. 

[Tugg Speedman]

Based on what?  The NBA salaries are paid for by the television deals.  The money is fixed to the deals.  There is a pool of money, not an ocean of it.

Sigh, This was a restatement of the absurd in response to this absurd post.


The question was why did Kohl sell the Bucks last week for $550m if the Clippers are worth $1.5b?  Is the difference between Milwaukee and LA really worth $1billion?  Remember they are in the same league, same TV deal, same salary cap, same players?  Also keep in mind the Clipper and the Bucks have spent many of the last several years as terrible teams.  The difference between them is the Clippers drafted Blake Griffin.  If he is a major reason that the Clippers are worth a billion more than the Bucks?  If so, then he is horribly underpaid at $20 million/year.  In response to that was this ...

Probably because the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement limits what players can be paid.  See James, LeBron.  I think it clears a billion easily.

I took this to mean he thought LeBron was worth a billion.  Then, being absurd, I said Lebron actually thinks he needs a 50x raise, then they are never going to agree on a collectively bargaining agreement.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I think it fair to call the Bucks selling price at $650 million since the buyers pledged an additional $100M for an arena, not hard to think the Clippers are worth quite a bit more at this point in time.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Sigh, This was a restatement of the absurd in response to this absurd post.


The question was why did Kohl sell the Bucks last week for $550m if the Clippers are worth $1.5b?  Is the difference between Milwaukee and LA really worth $1billion?  Remember they are in the same league, same TV deal, same salary cap, same players?  Also keep in mind the Clipper and the Bucks have spent many of the last several years as terrible teams.  The difference between them is the Clippers drafted Blake Griffin.  If he is a major reason that the Clippers are worth a billion more than the Bucks?  If so, then he is horribly underpaid at $20 million/year.  In response to that was this ...

I took this to mean he thought LeBron was worth a billion.  Then, being absurd, I said Lebron actually thinks he needs a 50x raise, then they are never going to agree on a collectively bargaining agreement.

Fair enough.  Comes down to the markets

A house here might sell for $1M...if you took that EXACT same house and dropped it in Wauwatosa, it might sell for $350K.  Insanity looms, no different on the valuations of other things.

[Tums Festival]

Lester Munson was just on SportCenter and said the proceedings to remove Sterling would happen quickly and if the owners vote to terminate Sterling's ownership and he decides to sue, the case would be dismissed quickly because the owners vote is considered binding arbitration.

[Fullodds]

Milwaukee was undervalued.

The market for the Clippers will include Magic's group with the Guggenheim partners and anyone else with money out west.  The Clippers value also includes the location.  The TV market in LA for the Clips will be huge.  Not sure about 1.5 Billion but I would not be surprised at $1 Billion.  Not sure any owner has lost money on a franchise in the last 30 years.