Your daily dosage of basketball chatter and gossip on a Wednesday.
The Clippers ownership attracts boxing greats
With the NBA working hard to remove banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from his stake with the team, retired boxer, turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have both expressed an interest in buying the club.
Mayweather, who regularly attends Clippers and Lakers games, spoke with reporters in a VIP lounge at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where he will face fellow welterweight titleholder Marcos Maidana in a unification fight on Saturday night.
“When I’m not boxing, I’m at the games all the time,” Mayweather said. “We do want to buy the Clippers. Me and my team do want to buy the Clippers and we can afford the Clippers.”
Mayweather, who is also an avid sports gambler in Las Vegas, where he lives, added, “Once I get ownership in the Clippers I can no longer bet, so I have to stop that completely.”
Retired fighter De La Hoya, who runs Golden Boy Promotions has announced his interest in the franchise.
“The league has made it known that it wants more minorities involved and, as a proud Mexican-American, I will bring a different perspective to the NBA in general, and the Clippers in particular,” said De La Hoya, who has a statue in the Staples Center’s Star Plaza outside the venue’s front entrance.
“I was born and raised in Los Angeles, I know what it takes to run a successful sports entity, and nothing would make me happier than to bring an NBA championship home to Southern California sports fans. ”I applaud NBA commissioner Adam Silver for his quick and decisive action regarding the Donald Sterling situation, and his forward thinking will push the league toward a positive future. There is no room for racism and unfair treatment in any professional sport; or in life in general. I hope to be a part of positive change for the league.”
Partizan might empty roster amid financial problems
Partizan Belgrade President, Predrag Danilovic is thinking about his future options with the team, after their failure to qualify for next season’s Euroleague all-together after missing the Adriatic League cut.
“After 14 years maybe it is time to change some things and start a new cycle,” he said. “It is too early to talk about but we will see at the end of the season what changes we can make. Next season we will be mainly focused on the Adriatic League. “We don’t give up on anything but Eurocup is a major expense and we are not in situation where we can sustain high cost. We have a huge debt to some players and people who work with Partizan. I think that the only chance to continue is to start a new cycle” said Danilovic. “To settle the debts the only way it to shop our players,” Danilovic added.
Nix leaves VEF Riga
Derrix Nix has left Latvian side VEF Riga due to personal reasons.
Nix wrote on his Twitter account: “Due to a series of unexpected events I had to depart from (VEF) Riga to assist/help my mother in recovering from her recent surgery & help take care of our household. This decision was not easy for me, but I have to be there for my family. I would like to thank the entire VEF organization for this worthy experience from the coaches to each and every player. Please keep me & my family in your prayers.. Thank you Derrick Nix”.
