HoopsHype.com Rumors

Elgin Baylor's wrongful termination and age-discrimination civil lawsuit against the Clippers is expected to arrive in the hands of jurors Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In closing statements Monday, the team's attorney blasted Baylor's claim and urged the panel to deprive him of any financial payoff. Ridiculing Baylor's complaints against team executives who asked him about his birthday and how he was feeling in the years before the NBA great's split with the team as executive vice president, Clippers attorney Robert Platt told jurors, "You'd have to have police at every workplace saying you can't sing, 'Happy Birthday.' " The Bellingham Herald

Los Angeles Clippers, Law, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

Clippers forward Blake Griffin is concerned about the Donald Sterling's string of public embarrassments, according to CBSSports.com ... . Under current NBA rules, players on rookie contracts have little power to influence where they play. And from the standpoint of talent and assets, the Clippers are on excellent footing going forward. CBSSports.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Donald Sterling 

Griffin will not be tied to the Clippers forever, and there are indications he will consider not only the Clippers' ability to compete for a championship, but also the kind of owner he wants to play for when he becomes eligible (under current rules, anyway) for an extension on July 1, 2012. Would alienating the most promising player in franchise history be grounds for Sterling to finally be held accountable? CBSSports.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Donald Sterling 

Stern has long preached that coaches are too expensive, scouts too plentiful and perhaps no one has heeded the commissioner’s words like the Los Angeles Clippers’ owner. He has a history of hiring them cheap, and refusing to honor contracts. The NBA has a history of letting it go without protests. Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Coaching, David Stern, Donald Sterling 

Yes, Stern’s silence and inaction on Sterling’s despicable behavior has to be considered as some level of approval. Now, Kim Hughes tells the story to the Racine (Wis.) Journal-Times about how Sterling didn’t pay for his prostate cancer surgery as a Clippers assistant coach several years ago. Clippers players contributed much of the $70,000 needed to take care of the costs that weren’t covered by Hughes’ medical insurance. And once Sterling fires those coaches and scouts, he often stops paying the balance of their contracts. He dares them to sue. Some can, and do. Some can’t afford the legal fight and end up settling for pennies on the dollar. Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Coaching, Kim Hughes, Donald Sterling 

This happened with scouts Scott Wissel and Jerry Holloway a year ago. They made less than six figures a year, and the Clippers simply stopped paying them. Essentially, Sterling was telling them, “The season’s over, and so what if your deal runs October to October. It’s April, get lost and we aren’t paying you.” Eventually, Holloway won a settlement, and Wissel had to fight more than a year to get part of his money. Where was the league office? Where was Stern’s indignity? Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Coaching, Donald Sterling 

Big and small markets. Winning and losing franchises. Great and lousy general managers and coaches. Old and new owners. They all agree: Don’t push Stern too hard because there will be a price to pay. Better off bowing, kissing the ring and shuffling past him. Anything goes in Stern’s NBA, except challenging the emperor. The league office never cares about criticism about most of its biggest stars, owners and coaches. In some cases, it’ll openly encourage it. Want to invite a call to your boss? That’s easy. Pull back the curtain on the commissioner. Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Coaching, Donald Sterling 

Clippers owner Donald Sterling testified Tuesday about his past deep loyalty and trust for former executive Elgin Baylor despite an admission by the owner that he wasn't completely clear about the NBA legend he appointed vice president of player personnel in 1986. "You didn't know about his basketball career?" Baylor attorney Carl Douglas asked Sterling in his first day on the stand as Baylor's wrongful termination civil lawsuit against the team continued at a Los Angeles courthouse. "His accomplishments? The Hall of Fame?" "No," Sterling answered. "... I didn't know that. I hired him for $3,000 a month. I didn't really know what his role was.... He was working in a mail-order company back then." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Law, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

Douglas' questions revealed the significant distance Sterling kept from the team he moved from San Diego in 1984. The organization has appeared in four postseason series since. When asked about a Baylor predecessor, Sterling said the name Carl Scheer "sounds familiar." He added, "I don't profess to know anything about basketball. I'm a professional lawyer." As for what he recalls about Baylor taking over basketball matters, the owner said, "[Baylor] … ultimately made $500,000 a year. Somewhere in between, he assumed that role." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Law, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

Sterling testified he paid Baylor whatever annual salary he would ask for and said he gave Baylor wide latitude in the team's handling, including what to pay coaches and whom to sign and draft. "Elgin Baylor wouldn't tell me the players he was drafting. He was afraid I'd tell another owner," Sterling testified. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Law, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

The owner dismissed the attorney's suggestion that the Clippers discriminated against Baylor because of his age. Baylor was 74 when he was terminated in 2008. "He's 6 feet 7," Sterling testified. "If somebody wants to harass him, I'd like to see him do it." The NBA "is like musical chairs, they constantly remove and change owners, general managers, coaches and agents, but I had a man I protected for 22 years.… He kept telling me it would get better. I kept hoping it would get better. It didn't get better. It got worse." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Law, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

Ultimately, Sterling testified he agreed with the move to designate Baylor a consultant, testifying, "The record speaks for itself. Of course, I was disappointed. I'm spending one-third of a billion dollars to win, and who's in charge of winning? Elgin Baylor is a good person, but we lost seven out of 10 games with him. How can anyone feel good about that?" Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Law, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

The former general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers has dropped allegations of racial discrimination against the team, but is pressing ahead with allegations that he was fired because of age discrimination. Elgin Baylor, 76, sued the team, owner Donald Sterling, and the NBA in February 2009, claiming he was wrongly fired after 22 years. Baylor decided to drop the racial discrimination claim element of his case just as jury selection was about to begin. Jury selection was set for Monday, and opening statements were likely on Tuesday. NBC Los Angeles

Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, Elgin Baylor 

General manager Neil Olshey played it straight when I asked how he persuaded Clippers owner Donald Sterling to agree to such a monumental organizational milestone. "A third of our roster is 22 years old and under," he said. "That's enough. "Now we need some guys that have been to the playoffs, that know how to win, that are veterans. So a guy like Mo Williams, who's been to the playoffs everywhere he's played, is a guy that can give directions to our younger guys. "Had we not drafted well, you're reluctant [to trade a lottery pick] because you're hoping the next draft is where we'll get the guy. But we've hit home runs four years in a row, so now it's time to add a veteran piece to this group." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Neil Olshey, Donald Sterling 

After starring at UCLA, Davis' pro career took him to Charlotte, New Orleans and Golden State before he eventually signed as a free agent with his hometown Clippers. But things never worked out there and by early this year, owner Donald Sterling actually was heckling Davis from his courtside seat. "You never expect the person who signed you to a contract to be the one who hates you the most," Davis admitted. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Los Angeles Clippers, Baron Davis, Donald Sterling 

There were rumors that Davis hated Cavs coach Byron Scott when the two were together in New Orleans. While they didn't get along, they have since patched things up and Davis says he's thrilled with the chance to play for Scott again. "I look at it as a rebirth, a new beginning," Davis said. "I'm excited, just watching this team. Having played for coach Scott, I know we're together for a reason. There's some things my game can benefit from just playing in his system. I'm just looking forward to the challenge to come out play with a lot of passion entertaining basketball and give it my all for the fans of Cleveland." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Los Angeles Clippers, Baron Davis, Donald Sterling 

Contrary to some reports, there's no thought of buying out Davis. The veteran's agent said Davis will report soon, possibly as early as today. News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Baron Davis, Donald Sterling 

One day after the Clippers sent Davis to the Cavs, the veteran point guard was still having trouble believing he’d been traded, a source close to him said. The L.A. native was supposed to help turn around the Clippers after signing a big contract in 2008. Instead, Davis battled injuries, conditioning problems and his own inconsistent play. Clippers owner Donald Sterling had even heckled him early in the season. Yahoo! Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Baron Davis, Donald Sterling 

Melo has shown no inclination whatsoever to go to L.A. And he's probably been advised by everyone around him that Donald Sterling is the last person on earth he wants to work for. So as appetizing as a Gordon-Melo-Griffin nucleus sounds, I can't see this one happening. ESPN.com

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Carmelo Anthony, Donald Sterling 

When the Clippers' team bus returned from a morning practice and pulled up to their hotel on a cold day in Detroit in mid-December, the coaches and staff stepped off and walked inside. The players stayed in their seats. They had something urgent to discuss — privately. Even with young sensation Blake Griffin in their lineup and a new head coach in Vinny Del Negro, the long-suffering NBA franchise was staring at another miserable season. The Clippers had arrived from Philadelphia where they'd lost their fourth consecutive game. Their record was a dismal 5-21. And back in Los Angeles, media reports had surfaced that frustrated team owner Donald Sterling had heckled veteran point guard Baron Davis and other players from the sidelines during games. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, Baron Davis, Donald Sterling