The GM's Suite

Rockets Owner Les Alexander Says Clippers Players Should Be Allowed To Become Free Agents

les Alexander

We’ve been waiting for the owners to speak out regarding the Donald Sterling situation. Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander has a radical suggestion. Make all the Clippers players free agents.

“I thought that there’s got to be a way to disrupt him from owning the team,” said Alexander, who after 20 years owning the Rockets is one of the longest tenured owners in the NBA. “I gave him the sword to deal with this. I said, ‘Let the players become free agents.’”

Alexander said the goal of his suggestion was not to break up the Clippers, considered among the league’s top teams, or even to punish Sterling. He said the objective was solely to back Sterling into a corner from which he will choose to sell the Clippers.

Alexander said he did not know what Silver would announce on Tuesday and that Silver did not say what actions he was considering, but did say that he would look into the feasibility and ramifications of Alexander’s suggestion.

“He listened to it,” Alexander said. “He said he hadn’t heard that before. He said to me, ‘You always give me a novel idea that I haven’t heard before.’ He told me he would look at it and see what the professionals around him think.”

“This kind of behavior can’t be allowed in the NBA by owners, players or anybody,” Alexander said via the Houston Chronicle. “This guy has no place in the family of the NBA. Whatever it takes, we have to make sure this kind of event never happens again.”

 

Adam Silver’s announcement will come today (Tuesday) at 11:00 AM PST.

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