NBA Thinks They Can Bump Shelly Sterling, Too...

((HT: NBA/ESPN))

The NBA thinks they have the legal-wrangling room to make sure Shelly Sterling doesn't get to stay as 50-percent owner of the LA Clippers, either.

Ramona Shelburne has been on top of the story since the beginning.

She reveals the gambit:

Shelly Sterling -- while entitled to a 50 percent interest in the franchise -- has never been approved by the board of governors as the controlling owner. She and team president Andy Roeser, who went on an indefinite leave of absence this week, were only alternate governors.

Odds are she won't be approved by the Board of Governors as the big boss- considering her marriage and recent video that has surfaced where she has defended her husband as not being a racist.

Here's Sterling's lawyer making his peace


This looks like it's beyond going to get ugly...

Sterling: Clips Aren't For Sale... Game On...

((HT: Fox News Channel))

Not shocking the HQ at all is the nugget out of the conversation Jim Gray had before NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came to the dais.

The next step is early on, thanks the Big Lead via Mike Sham...


The Big Lead story is hyah...

The HQ has always thought that the current owner of the Clippers wasn't going down without a fight...

And it looks like this attribution, if accurate, is the equivalent of "just bring it..."

Donald Sterling's ego, and it's history, have always been known to want to be in the spotlight.
This will be no different and he will go down in flames...

The Board of Governors will need 22 of the current 30 ownership groups to vote for an ouster. Commissioner Silver feels he'll be getting those votes without much of an issue...

Except, for the owner not wanting to yield...

NBA Board of Governors unanimously approves Hornet move back to Charlotte

CHARLOTTE -- The "buzz" is back in the Queen City.

On Friday morning, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved an application by the Charlotte franchise that will allow the Bobcats to revert back to the Hornets moniker for the 2014-15 season.

The original Hornets franchise played in Charlotte from 1988 until the team moved to New Orleans in 2002. Those original hornets teams featured players like Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and fellow Wake Forest star Muggsy Bogues.


“The passion and enthusiasm around this name change by fans in this market has been unmatched,” Michael Jordan, chairman of Bobcats Sports & Entertainment, told Bloomberg News. “With the young team we are developing on the court, the direction of our business and the return of the Hornets name, we are extremely excited about our future. The buzz is back.”

The organization held a party Thursday night at the Charlotte EpiCenter to announce the name change, and Rex Chapman, Kendall Gill, and Bogues were there to help celebrate.

One question remains...where's Hugo the Hornet?


We'll keep you posted.

DEVELOPING: NBA Approves Kings Sale To SacTown Group

Ending a few years, really, of speculation the NBA Board of Governors has approved the sale of the Sacramento Kings from the Maloof brothers to the Sacramento-based group led by Vivek Ranadive and other civic leaders.

Ranadive will now have to officially divest himself of his interest in the Golden State Warriors. The Maloof family paid $156 million in 1998 for the majority stake and Ranadive will pay around $200-million in cash. The Ranadive group will also assume the Kings' debts to the NBA and the city of Sacramento. That adds up to $347-million...

Forbes Magazine has valued the team at $535 million and they'll move into an 18,500-seat arena complex set to cost $448-million. Ranadive's group pays $190-million of that and the city will pay the rest.

Here was the Kings rally once everything was almost set in place...
((HT: news10.net))

Report: Kings to Seattle Move: Maloofs Have Plan B

((ht: espn.com))

The seemingly never ending story of the Maloof brothers trying to sell the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle keeps continuing with more and more chapters.

In the latest move, ESPN.com reporter Brian Windhorst reports that Joe and Gavin Maloof have a plan B in the event the NBA Board of Governors reject the proposed sale to Seattle financier Chris Hansen and Microsoft mogul Steve Ballmer. If rejected, the Board wants to recommend the team be sold to a group headed by billionaire Vivek Ranadive.

If the league says no, the Maloof's reportedly would sell a minority stake in the team (2-% for $120 million) to Mr's Ballmer and Hansen. And that has the potential for a major mess.


Read the entire ESPN.com story RIGHT HERE

What is fairly obvious here is the Maloof's want to get the Kings out of Sacramento no matter what. But the other nugget in the story is this: The NBA appears to have concerns the Ranadive Group may not have the backing to be sustainable.

The league is trying to bend over backwards to prevent a franchise from relocating and that stance is in many ways admirable. With the reports over the past two days that Hansen and Ballmer continue sweetening the deal and the new nugget that they are will to pay a substantial ($115 million) relocation fee, we could have an issue here.

Windhorst reports the NBA's relocation committee wants to revisit the proposed sale to each party before the Board of Governors vote on it next week. It's beginning to sound a bit like they are having second thoughts. If those thoughts come to fruition, Seattle may eventually end up landing the Kings before this is all said and done.

Though we fully expect several more back and forth stories on it.