Clippers co-Owner Rochelle Sterling does "not want to be the managing owner" of the Clippers and does "not want to buy out the other 50% share of the team owned by her husband Donald," but she "does want to keep her 50% share in the team," according to a source cited by Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY. The source said that she is "willing to be have an outside buyer come in to take her husband's stake while she stays in the background as a passive owner, as she is now." Asked if the NBA was OK with such a scenario, the source said that Rochelle Sterling "remains in talks with the league." Her intentions "complicate any league effort to wash its hands completely of the Sterling family" (USATODAY.com, 5/8). In N.Y., Scott Cacciola notes Rochelle Sterling, who in a statement Thursday said that she would continue to attend the Clippers’ playoff games, also has hired L.A.-based attorney Pierce O’Donnell to "represent her as the league moves to terminate her husband’s ownership of the team" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/9).
CLEAN SLATE: In L.A., Rainey, Bresnahan & Nelson note the statement "clarified her long-term intentions, raising concerns" among elected officials, civic leaders, fans and Clippers coach Doc Rivers about the "continued tenure of either of the Sterlings." L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson "called for a clean break from the Sterlings." Rivers said Rochelle Sterling's continued ownership could create "a very difficult situation" in which the team "wouldn't know really who was in charge." Meanwhile, NBA officials said that it would be "at least two more weeks" following the issuance of formal allegations against Sterling, before fellow owners would be in a position to judge whether their longest-tenured partner should be allowed to stay in place." One agent source said that a "transfer of power from Donald Sterling to his wife would be '100%' problematic for the Clippers in attracting free-agent players" (L.A. TIMES, 5/9). Rivers said of the Clippers staying in the Sterling family, "I think it would be a very hard situation. I can guarantee you every person wouldn't be on board with that. Whether I would or not, I'm not going to say, but I just know that would be a very difficult situation for everybody." He added, "There's no playbook. I think what's appropriate is what everyone thinks is appropriate. It's not whether I think it is or not. It's what the masses think is. And that doesn't mean the masses are right. If we've learned anything, the masses can be wrong too. Who knows what's right in this? We do know what's wrong in this. We don't know what's right" (L.A. TIMES, 5/9). ESPN's Israel Gutierrez said the NBA should feel a "little uneasy" about Rochelle Sterling's efforts to retain the team. ESPN's Pablo Torre noted she "has a very dark past as well" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 5/8).
