Although the NBA banning Donald Sterling for life and looking to force him out of ownership, there are still numerous hurdles for the league to get past. Sterling has reportedly recruited a law firm to represent him against the NBA and his estranged wife, Shelly, has publicly stated numerous times that she intends to keep her 50 percent ownership stake.
Despite all these potential hurdles, numerous parties have still expressed their interest in purchasing the Clippers organization.
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Even though Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners had been linked to purchasing the Clippers, Johnson told USA Today Sports’ Eric Prisbal that he believes it will take quite some time for the Clippers to hit the market:
First of all, we have to all remember that that is a long way away,” Johnson said. “The board of governors first has to vote him out. Donald Sterling is going to fight it. You know that. It is going to be a long time.
Keeping that in mind, Johnson said that he will refrain from announcing his interest in buying the team until they officially become for sale:
“I have other things to do before I just say my level of interest. The team has to be up for sale. And I think that is going to be eight months to a year. Once it’s official, that it’s really up for sale, we’ll take a look at it.”
Like Johnson said, it will take quite some time before the Clippers’ situation is solved. Sterling has no problem entering litigation as he has been successful on numerous times before. Throw in the Shelly Sterling situation and the NBA has quite a lot to sort out in the coming months.
Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners have had great success in their short stint as owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but considering his basketball background, it makes sense for Johnson to have interest in the Clippers.
Should the Clippers be for sale, Johnson’s group will be one of many interested parties that include Oprah Winfrey, Floyd Mayweather, and Rick Caruso just to name a few.
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