Shelly Sterling Met With Steve Ballmer Over Clippers, But Don't Bet On A Move

((HT: Ramona Shelburne/The Score))

Shelburne's Tweet credited TMZ Sports with the news here- which would reinforce a few things from KING5-TV's Chris Daniels conversations in the last month or so...

TMZ reports, however, a concern over a move of the Clippers to Ballmer's home turf of Seattle.

But, Shira Ovide's interview with Ballmer in the Wall Street Journal before his commencement address to students at Southern Cal's Marshall School of Business, pooh-poohs any such idea:

The HQ reversed the two questions Ovide asked Ballmer for the sake of not blowing continuity of copy...

WSJ: So you wouldn’t move the Clippers to Seattle?

Ballmer: If I get interested in the Clippers, it would be for Los Angeles. I don’t work anymore, so I have more geographic flexibility than I did a year, year-and-a half ago. Moving them anywhere else would be value destructive.

WSJ: You’ve tried a couple times to buy an NBA franchise to return a basketball team to Seattle. Are you interested in the Los Angeles Clippers, if the team goes up for sale?

Ballmer: I have nothing definitive to say. Am I right on top of what’s going on there? Absolutely I am. I love basketball, and I’d love to participate at some point in the NBA. If the opportunity is outside of Seattle, so be it. I will learn about any team that comes up for sale at this point.

Re-running Hansen's piece from last month about a possible move, here's the thoughts and they're not all that optimistic for the pacific northwest- and this was last month:
((HT: KING5))

But, remember, any Hansen-Ballmer sniff of the Clippers better go through proper channels with commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA office or the duo could be shut out entirely. Just because Ballmer may meet with Shelly Sterling doesn't mean much for putting them at the front of the line for prospective owners of the team.

For Hansen-Ballmer, their first phone call after securing the meeting with Sterling and her lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, better have been to New York City if they want to play in the reindeer games down the line.