Report: Donald Sterling’s lawyers say they have gotten offers in excess of $2.5 billion for Clippers

By Kurt HelinMay 27, 2014, 7:20 PM EDT
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As with all things Donald Sterling, we start with this cautionary note: Take everything he and his people say with a grain of salt. Actually, a five-pound bag of the stuff. The smart move is to assume everything is a stalling tactic or an effort to somehow gain some measure of control over what is going on.

But on the day Sterling has to answer the NBA’s charges against him in the league’s effort to force a sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, his attorney dropped this, via NBC’s Los Angeles.

While there has been buzz that with all the big names involved in the bidding the price was going to get north of $1.5 billion and up to $2 billion, this is still an eye-popping number.

Again, if I were cynical I would say this was an effort from Sterling’s attorney to slow the league’s process down and maintain control as his wife Shelly tries to sell the team. The old dazzle them with big numbers trick.

Actually, I am cynical about this, I think that is what is going on.

I also know the league is not slowing down its effort.

In the wake of the fallout from a leaked recording of Donald Sterling saying very prejudiced things — and sponsors pulling out as a result — the NBA started the process to remove him as owner of the Clippers. The league presented formal charges against Sterling last week and through their constitutional process — something Sterling and his wife agreed to and signed off on more than once — he has until Tuesday midnight to respond.

On June 3 there will be a Board of Governors meeting (the other 29 owners) where Sterling and his attorney can make their case, and the league will present its case. After that, if three quarters of the owners vote to remove Sterling he is gone, as is any other owner of the team — in this case his wife Shelly Sterling. At that point the league would take control of the franchise and sell the team through a blind bid process (Sterling would get the money from that sale, minus any fines and league expenses).

The league is not slowing down. No matter how much money Sterling’s attorney says is being offered — the league would get that same offer when it sold the team.

Nuggets Mike Malone on Seth Curry, Will Barton dust up: ‘It’s playoff basketball’

By Kurt HelinMay 12, 2019, 12:00 PM EDT
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Seth Curry thought it was “sassy.”

Emotions were high, and there was a little pushing and shoving after Nikola Jokic picked up an offensive foul that sent Zach Collins to the ground and into the knees of Will Barton, who took exception to that, then Curry took exception to Barton, and there was a lot of posturing and a couple of pushes. Four guys got technicals. After the game, Curry said the Nuggets have some “sassy dudes over there” and called the Nuggets “frontrunners.”

Denver coach Mike Malone saw it differently, basically telling everyone “you thought this was tough?” Via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN:

“To me, that’s weak,” Malone said Saturday…. “If that’s chippiness, I mean … I grew up in a much different time in the NBA. If that’s chippiness and you want to call it ‘sassy,’ go ahead. But to me, it’s a joke…

“It’s Will Barton protecting himself from a guy falling into his knees,” said Malone, whose father was an assistant during the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” days. “It’s Seth Curry taking offense to it. They get into a little minor skirmish — move on. Game 7 will be hard-fought. It will be emotional because of what’s at stake. I don’t think it’s going to be a carry-over from what happened in last game. It’s playoff basketball. It should be a hard-fought game. It should be physical. It should be teams protecting each other.

“Again, that’s a different era when you think about my father when he was with the ‘Bad Boys’ and all that. That [incident in Game 6] was nothing in my opinion.”

Malone is right.

Granted there’s a little “get off my lawn” in there, about how things were tougher back in his day. Except they were. The NBA let the physicality go, the Bad Boy Pistons pushed that envelope, and every team had guys out there to bang bodies and be physical. Different era, the rules were enforced differently, and it led to a different style of basketball. (A slow, dragging, isolation-heavy game that some people remember fondly because of Jordan and Iverson, but many nights was just a slog of ugly basketball and missed shots with the skill beat out of the game.)

It’s the playoffs, suck it up and move on. Game 7 should be physical and intense. That’s the point. Save the tough guy posturing for next season.

Cavaliers interviewing four assistants for coaching job

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Associated PressMay 12, 2019, 10:00 AM EDT
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CLEVELAND — The Cavs’ coaching search has picked up speed.

Cleveland is meeting with four NBA assistants this weekend in Denver to try and fill its coaching vacancy, a person familiar with the team’s plans told The Associated Press.

The Cavaliers met Friday night with Denver assistant Jordi Fernandez and interviewed Orlando’s Steve Hetzel on Saturday, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The person says the team also has meetings scheduled with Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. and Portland’s David Vanterpool.

The Cavs would still like to meet with Trail Blazers assistant Nate Tibbetts, the person said.

Fernandez is believed to be a front-runner for the job because of his previous connections with Cleveland. The 36-year-old He started his coaching career with the Cavaliers in 2009. He has experience in player development and he’s the kind of young coach who could mesh easily with t a young team.

Hetzel also has worked for the Cavs, first as the team’s video coordinator and then coach of the G League Canton Charge. Prior to his time with Cleveland, Hetzel was a developmental coach with Detroit.

He was an assistant for four seasons in Charlotte under Steve Clifford before joining him with the Magic.

Unseld, whose father is a Hall of Fame player, is Denver coach Michael Malone’s top assistant. He’s been with the Nuggets since 2015 and has been credited with the club’s major defensive improvement.

The 46-year-old Vanterpool has been with the Trail Blazers since 2012.

The Cavaliers have been looking for a coach since parting ways with Larry Drew after a 19-63 season, the club’s first after LeBron James left as a free agent. Drew took over six games into the season after Tyronn Lue was fired.

Cleveland’s taking a methodical approach with its coaching search, which is unlikely to wrap up before Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery. The team has already met with Dallas assistant coach Jamahl Mosely, Miami assistant Juwan Howard, former Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Utah assistant Alex Jensen and San Antonio’s Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka.

Warriors owner Joe Lacob reiterates he wants to keep Thompson, Curry on Warriors ‘forever’

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By Kurt HelinMay 12, 2019, 7:55 AM EDT
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A report this week that free agent to be Klay Thompson is unhappy getting the “crumbs” behind Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant set off a familiar dance. One we seem to do annually.

First, the player denies it, as Thompson did. Then someone from the organization, in this case Steve Kerr, comes out and says they plan to keep him.

Then finally owner Joe Lacob, the guy who has to cut the checks — including a big one to the league for the luxury tax — comes out and says he will pay to keep the team together. Right on cue, Lacob spoke with Nick Friedell of
ESPN about his dynamic backcourt of Thompson and Curry.

“Obviously, my intention is to keep them as part of our organization forever,” Lacob told ESPN. “That’s our goal. We’ll see what happens.”

Later Lacob added this about Thompson.

“I have a special bond with him. I always have. He’s the first player, since I bought the team, that we drafted. The very first one. And I just have always felt an incredible attachment. People make fun of me a little bit — I always say I love Klay. I love Klay. I just do. He’s so real. He’s so real. There’s no B.S. And there’s something about him, I have a very special relationship with him.”

Thompson will have options this summer, teams from New York to Los Angeles (a couple of them in both of those markets) would have interest in his services. When Thompson hit the game-sealing three in Game 6 in Houston with :36 seconds left, Thompson pointed at Lacob after the shot. On Twitter, people wanted to make that Thompson telling Lacob “pay me my money,” although Thompson said it was just living in the moment.

Thompson will get paid. Sources have told NBCSports.com all season that Thompson would stay if the Warriors max him out, and that Lacob and management plan to do exactly that.

If what Thompson wants is more touches, we’ll just have to see what happens with Kevin Durant’s free agency before making any predictions. However, if he leaves — and that is an “if” still — a lot of shots just opened up.

Either way, we know the dance of words with Thompson, now it will just come down to actions on July 1.

Three things to watch in Game 7s between Nuggets-Blazers, 76ers-Raptors

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By Kurt HelinMay 11, 2019, 10:59 PM EDT
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It’s a high stakes Sunday for the NBA.

Two Game 7s with much more on the line than trips to the next round.

Toronto and Philadelphia both went all-in on winning this season, gambling on big time free agents to be who could put them over the top, and if they did then those stars may want to stay. The Raptors have Kawhi Leonard, Philadelphia has Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Plus, Sixers coach Brett Brown may need to win to hold on to his job.

Denver and Portland see themselves as the teams who have got next in the West, franchises poised to rise up as Golden State fades away. A trip to the Western Conference Finals would be validation, fall short and there will need to be some soul searching.

The NBA has got the drama on Mothers’ Day, but what is it going to take to win those games? Here are three things to keep an eye on.

1) Will the Raptors knock down their threes and give Kawhi Leonard some help? Leonard has been the best player in the East this postseason, a beast that justifies both the Raptors gamble on him and the way they managed his minutes — or, more accurately, let him manage his own minutes — during the regular season. Leonard has averaged 33.7 points with a 67.7 true shooting percentage, plus 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists a game against Philadelphia this series.

Toronto’s defense has more and more been to throw multiple defenders at Leonard, trying not to let him beat them.

Which puts the pressure on everyone around Leonard — Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, and Marc Gasol. Philly’s defense is willing to give up threes, and when Toronto has hit them it has won. The above foursome has shot 38.3 percent from three in Toronto’s wins and 26.2 percent in the losses (on almost the same number of attempts).

For all the crazy things that can happen in a Game 7, the goal is still simply to put the ball in the basket. If the Raptors can do that from three, they will win. If they miss, particularly early on, it could lead to….

2) Will Ben Simmons get some early transition buckets, start playing downhill, and be a force in Game 7? Joel Embiid is the lynchpin for everything in Philly — he is +80 through six games in a series where his team has been outscored by 17 points overall. Embiid is the Sixers’ rock. Jimmy Butler has been Philadelphia’s best player and their go-to pick-and-roll ball handler in this series, and he has been brilliant (and endeared himself to Sixers fans).

However, Ben Simmons may be the bellwether. He got early opportunities in Game 6 in transition where he is most dangerous, that got him confident and aggressive, and from there he went on to 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He led the blowout Game 6 win.

“We just missed so many shots early and they were just playing off the rebound so often,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said after Game 6. “They were getting the rebound and pushing it out on us, and we didn’t do a great job in transition.”

Jared Dudley was not wrong, Simmons can fade into the background in the halfcourt. With Butler dominating the ball, Simmons slides into the dunker position and can see very few touches from there. Then he gets passive on offense, and it spirals.

If Simmons is getting out in transition early and being aggressive, it’s an excellent sign for Philadelphia.

3) Is Rodney Hood the third scorer Portland needs to win? Damian Lillard is going to get his, he’s one of the best scorers in the sport — and he’s clutch. He was made for Game 7s. Which is why Denver is going to work to get the ball out of his hands, and this is why C.J. McCollum has been so critical for Portland in this series.

However, Portland will need scoring from a third source to win on the road, and that may be Rodney Hood. He had 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Game 6 and was the MVP of the night. He’s had a few games like that these playoffs, having found a role on this Portland team that eluded him in Cleveland and Utah last season.

If Hood gets going again, Portland has a chance.

Denver vs. Portland has been the tightest of second-round series and what separates the teams in this game — Paul Millsap having a good night, Nikola Jokic diming guys up, Lillard going off, Hood having a night — may come down to the slightest of things. This has been the most entertaining second-round series, in part because neither team can really stop the other, but if one side finds just a little defense that may be the deciding factor.