#la-clippers

#la-clippers

ON AUG. 18, 2014, Steve Ballmer shouted, chest-bumped and high-fived his way through a frenzied crowd of 4,500 fans inside Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Eminem's "Lose Yourself" thumped overhead. The former Microsoft CEO had just paid a then-record $2 billion for the LA Clippers, at once rescuing the team, the city of Los Angeles and the NBA from one of its darkest eras.

"The burden is on the league if we're going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league," Silver said during his annual news conference at the conclusion of the league's Board of Governors meetings in midtown Manhattan. "I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges."