Eric Sorenson
At or near the top of new NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s to-do list, which hasn’t already been crossed off regarding recently banned Donald Sterling, is finding a new owner for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Tuesday Silver dropped the hammer on Sterling banning the long-time owner for life and fining him $2.5 million, the most allowed under NBA rules.
Sterling has been insistent he won’t sell but won’t have a choice if the Board of Governors, or 23 owners, force him out with a three-fourths vote.
Since Tuesday’s highly publicized press conference conducted by Silver several high-profile individuals like Oprah Winfrey, boxer Floyd Mayweather music and film mogul David Geffen and actor Frankie Muniz have expressed interest in forming ownership groups and purchasing the Clippers.
Can we add one of the NBA greats to the list?
“It would depend,” Suns legend, now NBA on TNT studio analyst Charles Barkley told Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat in a phone interview Wednesday morning. “I ain’t going to put $20-30 million in a deal just to get good seats. That’s just silly.”
Barkley, who was approached by Suns owner Robert Sarver about obtaining partial ownership a number of years ago, believes owning an NBA team “is a great investment” if you have “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
He cited how much money Sterling plans to bank if he is indeed forced to sell. He paid $13 million in 1981. The franchise now is reported to be worth at least a $1 billion and could rise with future television deals.
For now, it sounds like Barkley is content to stay put.
“I can make more money with my own money than just owning an NBA team.”
