From the moment Donald Sterling’s voice was heard uttering those repulsive, racist comments on the now-infamous audio-taped conversation with girlfriend V. Stiviano, the NBA had no choice but to remove him as owner of the Clippers.
That the league acted as swiftly and unanimously as it did between owners and players to oust Sterling is a tribute to its zero tolerance for such blatant hate and racism. And by completing construction of the remarkable bridge that delivers the Clippers from the incompetence of Sterling to the brilliance of new owner Steve Ballmer, the NBA didn’t just remove a hideous stain. It turned its weakest link into one of its strongest.
But now comes a new set of problems.
By ridding itself of Sterling and officially welcoming Ballmer into the club, the NBA has awakened a sleeping giant.
One whose reach and impact will be felt as close as across the hall at Staples Center — that would be the Lakers — all the way to TD Garden in Boston.
With the former Microsoft CEO as the new sheriff in town, a new day might be dawning across the NBA.
The Clippers were closing in on a new, successful era even before Sterling stumbled into Stiviano’s web and exposed himself as the bungling fool he’s been over most of his 33-year ownership of the franchise.
They had a young team filled with exciting superstars like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and a respected, compelling leader in coach and general manager Doc Rivers. They played in a desirable, vibrant city in front of sellout crowds at one of the league’s premier arenas.
All the necessary components were in place for a successful run.
About the only thing that could have screwed it all up was Sterling, who had perennial, exclusive control of the infamous other shoe and was prone to drop it at the most inopportune times.
The Clippers have periodically stood at the doorstep of prosperous eras, only to have Sterling blow-torch it with his penny-pinching ways or baffling basketball acumen.
And in the eyes of the Lakers and everyone else, the Clippers were simply that annoying pebble that sometimes finds its way into your shoe. Bothersome, yes. But hopelessly harmless, nonetheless.
That pebble on Tuesday grew into a full-fledged boulder, and with Ballmer now in charge it threatens to wreak considerable damage as it powerfully rolls across the landscape.
Make no mistake, Los Angeles is and always will be a Lakers town. It will take years before that changes, if it ever will.
But a cluster of events have converged so perfectly that the Clippers are finally poised to penetrate the Lakers’ powerful foothold.
Sterling was always the Clippers’ greatest opponent. They would never rise to greatness with him poisoning the water at the very top.
But he is no longer a concern.
Beyond that, the presence of Griffin and Paul and Rivers ensures the Clippers as a viable contender in the Western Conference as well as a welcomed landing spot for future free agents.
And with the Lakers standing at the ground floor of a major rebuilding project — with no light yet emerging to lead them back to prosperity — the Clippers’ window of opportunity just burst wide open.
And not just locally.
The San Antonio Spurs are bound to show their age at some point. And if Kevin Durant follows his heart back home to Maryland to play for the Washington Wizards, the Western Conference will suddenly look a whole lot less intimidating.
The Clippers are positioned perfectly to seize the moment.
And maybe grab hold of a decade in the process.
Ironically, Sterling’s final act of buffoonery may have been his greatest contribution to a franchise he continually steered head-first into immovable walls over the years.
It forced him to hand over the keys to an innovative, motivated, multi-billionaire who takes over with one objective in mind: To make the Clippers one of the premier franchises in professional sports.
It’s up to him to put words into action, but Ballmer didn’t blow the rest of the field out of the water with his $2 billion bid to simply pull a string on his new toy and watch it scuttle about in circles.
He wants to win.
And he’ll do it by any means necessary and by utilizing every asset at his disposal.
With the Lakers practically helpless to do anything about it for the immediate future — their roster is set for next season, and realistically it will take three years and an incredible amount of luck before they are championship-relevant again — the Clippers have the necessary talent, coach, leadership and time to finally make their move.
For years, the Lakers could count on Sterling to screw it all up.
For decades, the rest of the NBA looked at the Clippers with indifference.
That all changed Tuesday.
vincent.bonsignore@langnews.com @DailyNewsVinny on Twitter
