The Los Angeles Clippers are tied 2-2 in their series with the Thunder, but heading to the future nearly everything about the franchise is uncertain, as stars like Chris Paul or Blake Griffin could demand a trade to teams like the Rockets, Lakers, Bulls or Knicks if Shelly Sterling or Donald Sterling fight the NBA to retain control of the franchise and on top of that, head coach Doc Rivers could be out as well if the family stays in power.
While deals involving names like Griffin or Paul are far off in the future, it's not out of the realm of possibility, especially if the Sterling's fight tooth and nail to remain owners and so far that appears to be the route they are taking.
Sterling has tried to blame anyone and everything else for what he said, including trying to have sex, being set up and just not knowing what to do, while his wife is also a documented racist. Shelly has tried to say that she will fight the NBA, but based on the constitution, the league has the right to vote out both owner's even if it was one owner that was involved in an incident, as their contracts are tied together as one ownership group and they can force that group to sell. Of course the Sterling's intend to fight this.
The NBA and everyone else will have to wait and see how things play out with the Sterling's, but one thing is for certain, the players do not want to play for either Donald or Shelly. While both have tried to claim they are not racist, there is documented evidence beyond what was said on the recording that was released and even without that tape, the players have taken a stand and they will not allow someone like Rochelle, who retains 50 percent ownership, be their owner after what she has done in the past.
While Sterling's recording went viral, what Shelly did in some ways was worse, as she was also an owner of the buildings that Sterling made money off of and to gain access to apartments of Latino and black tenants, she lied about being a health inspector and made disparaging remarks about both races. There is video evidence of this and she has already repeatedly tried to whitewash the past and the players are having none of it. Sterling and his wife think that having all the money they have means they can go above the fray when it comes to this situation, but players like Paul and LeBron James have power here and they plan to use it.
The NBA players were prepared to boycott if the league did not take proper action against Sterling earlier and this could play out again if they can't force him out. Paul and Griffin have immense power in this situation, as the NBA knows they cannot allow a franchise to operate when star players could walk into the execs office and say "trade me" because the owner doesn't believe people of my race should be allowed to come to the games. The NBA can't stand for this and that is why the Sterling's battle will end up getting them out of ownership, even if it takes a while to do so.
