Why Sterling won't sell to Geffen...yet
Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 1:42 am
It took me a little while to realize this but upon reflection it makes sense. Sterling is first and foremost a businessman. He cares a lot more about making money than about putting out a good product. This his primary reason for pursuing LeBron. The Clippers, while one of the most profitable franchises, is one of the least valuable, rated at around 300 million dollars. The Cleveland Cavaliers, an otherwise unremarkable franchise outside of LeBron, is rated at around 475 million dollars in franchise value.
Given that Sterling has convinced himself that he will sign LeBron he wants to maximize his profit and therefore would not even give a minority stake to someone else as it would negatively impact his overall profits. Of course the irony is that Geffen would greatly increase Sterling's chance of getting LeBron but Sterling's massive ego will not allow him to admit to this fact. Thus, once the Clippers lose out on LeBron and Sterling no longer has such an immediate franchise-altering option available to him, he will become more amenable to selling a portion of the team; we can only hope.
Given that Sterling has convinced himself that he will sign LeBron he wants to maximize his profit and therefore would not even give a minority stake to someone else as it would negatively impact his overall profits. Of course the irony is that Geffen would greatly increase Sterling's chance of getting LeBron but Sterling's massive ego will not allow him to admit to this fact. Thus, once the Clippers lose out on LeBron and Sterling no longer has such an immediate franchise-altering option available to him, he will become more amenable to selling a portion of the team; we can only hope.
