NBA News Wire
NBA roundup: One step closer to ousting Sterling
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The NBA initiated a charge seeking to terminate Donald Sterling’s ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers and set a hearing for June 3, the league announced Monday.
The league statement said that if the NBA Board of Governors sustains the charge by a three-fourths vote, all ownership interests in the Clippers will be terminated and the team will be sold to new owners.
The owners’ vote will take place after the hearing, which will be held in New York.
Sources with knowledge of the NBA’s legal strategy told ESPN.com that Sterling’s comments from a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper are included as part of the basis for the charge to remove him and the ownership group. The charge relates to the TMZ audio recording and acts related to that recording, including the CNN interview.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver on April 29 banned Sterling for life for racist comments he made on an audio recording. Silver also fined Sterling $2.5 million and urged league owners to force him to sell the team.
Sterling and his lawyer, Maxwell Blecher, received written notification of the charges Monday. Blecher has declined comment through his law firm.
Sterling’s estranged wife, Shelly, has said she will fight to keep her 50 percent share of the team even if Sterling is forced to sell, but the league said in its statement that “all ownership interests in the Clippers will be terminated” if the charge is upheld.
—The Golden State Warriors finalized a contract agreement with new coach Steve Kerr.
Kerr, a 15-year NBA veteran and five-time NBA champion as a player, is the team’s 25th coach in franchise history and the 20th since the team moved to the Bay Area in 1962.
Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced but according to reports, the deal is for five years and $25 million.
The team will formally introduce Kerr in a press conference scheduled for Tuesday in Oakland.
—Before the New York Knicks settle on finalists for their head coach position, team president Phil Jackson wants to call his own play: Derek Fisher.
Jackson is planning to hold the hiring process until the Knicks can get an audience with Fisher, who is a reserve guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday.
—The Minnesota Timberwolves will listen to trade offers for All-Star forward Kevin Love, according to multiple reports.
The team previously was not open to trading Love, but after reports surfaced over the weekend that he does not want a contract extension and will test free agency after next season, the team reportedly has a change of heart.
The Timberwolves are now open to trading Love if the right deal comes along. They are reportedly seeking a high first-round pick in this year’s draft and at least one solid veteran player.
—The Philadelphia 76ers hope Dr. J will bring some luck to the team during Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery.
Special advisor and Sixers legend Julius Erving will represent the team at the lottery in New York. It will be broadcast live on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET.
