Clippers potential buyers include boxers, musicians, media moguls
After the NBA gave Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling a lifetime ban for racist comments he made on a recorded conversation, Commissioner Adam Silver said he would call on the owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the team.
It didn't take long for a list of deep-pocketed suitors to express interest in buying the Clippers.
CBS News has confirmed that Oprah Winfrey is considering teaming with media mogul David Geffen and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to make a bid to buy the team.
Meanwhile, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. said Tuesday that he's interested in putting together a group - with himself as a majority owner - to buy the team if it is put up for sale.
"Do we want to buy the Clippers? Yes we do," Mayweather said. "I'm very, very interested in buying the Clippers."
Mayweather may not have enough money to buy the Clippers by himself, but he's certainly got enough for a good down payment. The boxer will make another $40 million or so Saturday night when he takes on Marcos Maidana in the third fight of a six-fight deal with Showtime that is reportedly worth $250 million.
And he's plenty familiar with the team. Mayweather has a condo next to Staples Center and is a courtside fixture at both Lakers and Clippers games.
"We want to buy the Clippers and we can afford to buy the Clippers," Mayweather said.
Sterling bought the Clippers for $12.5 million in 1981. Forbes says the team's value now totals at least $575 million, however, it could sell for much more than that. Earlier this month, investors purchased the beleaguered Milwaukee Bucks, which Forbes had valued at $405 million, for a record $550 million.
Mayweather could have a few issues if he decides to pursue a purchase. He served a jail term in 2012 after pleading guilty to domestic violence and harassment charges in a case involving the mother of his children and he's a big sports bettor, often wagering six-figure amounts on NBA games.
Meanwhile, former boxing star Oscar De La Hoya told reporters that he would be interested joining forces with Mayweather on the purchase.
"When it comes to business, what better than two minorities? The commissioner wanted to see more minority ownership in the NBA," said De La Hoya, who already has an ownership stake in the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. "If he wants more minorities involved in the NBA, what better than me and Floyd to be part of a potential ownership group?
Rapper Rick Ross and music mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs also expressed interest in buying the team, with Diddy tweeting:
Actor Matt Damon told CNBC that he is also interested in entering into a minority ownership role with the team.
Meanwhile, real estate tycoon Rick Caruso told the L.A. Times that he also had interest in joining a group that would buy the franchise.
Magic Johnson, who has an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, had been mentioned as a possible buyer for the Clippers but the Hall of Fame basketball player knocked down that report via Twitter on Monday:
"They'd have huge legal hurdles," CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford said. "It'd be tough to go into a court of law and say we're going to force him to give up his property, what he owns, because of his comments."