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Los Angeles Clippers: Is Steve Ballmer The Man With The Golden Check?

By Adam McGee

Feb 13, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and wife Rochelle Sterling (Shelly Sterling) react during the game against the Houston Rockets at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 13, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and wife Rochelle Sterling (Shelly Sterling) react during the game against the Houston Rockets at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Reasoned Business Mind

Apr 20, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban watches warmups before the game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks in game one during the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban watches warmups before the game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks in game one during the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

To own an NBA team, you’re likely going to have been incredibly successful in your area of expertise. There’s a big difference between guys who have mastered one industry and those who are more generally shrewd in a business sense though.

The modern NBA is a lucrative business of its own, and if a team is to prosper, both on and off the court, it needs an owner who makes measured decisions and stays out of his own way.

In the past decade, sports as a whole has seen a significant influx of interfering, busy-body owners. For the world’s elite, sports teams seem to be like the ultimate badge of honor, and at times they appear to be nothing more than a toy for the men in charge. For an example of this, we need look no further than the Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera.

In the past couple of weeks, Pera has been trying to tear down the structure of a franchise that has just won over 50 games for a second straight season. A Sports Illustrated report by Chris Mannix revealed a number of factors that are rumored to have been behind Pera’s motives, and he continues to look more controlling and eccentric by the minute.

Pera is a basketball obsessive, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If Clippers fans look at Mark Cuban, they’ll see a guy who loves his team, and has driven it from obscurity to relevance. Cuban may make many questionable comments, and occasionally appear to be a bizarre figure screaming at referees courtside, but his competitive nature and business instincts have served Dallas well.

Despite his fandom, Cuban has hired intelligent basketball people, and then supported them, allowing them to make their own decisions. The team have his full financial backing, and Cuban always seems to be prepared to do what’s necessary for the Mavericks to win.

The last thing the Clippers want is a disengaged owner, but at the same time, it’s important that Ballmer understands when it’s time to defer to those more knowledgeable.

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