There is a reason why the Los Angeles Clippers will never be as liked or accomplish as much as their rival older brother Los Angeles Lakers have. It can be summed up in two words: Donald Sterling.

It isn’t because of their poor play or lack of talent in past years, though both have been clearly evident. Instead, it’s because of their owner and the bad karma that can get deep into the organization. Not everyone believes in karma but when dealing with such a man as Sterling, karma rears its ugly head over and over.

Being the leader of both the Clippers and Players Association, Chris Paul needs to step up and do something about his teams owner Donald Sterling. By Verse Photography (Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles41) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

We all know that he has been accused of being openly racist in the past. For example, in 2006 he was sued by the US Department of Justice over housing discrimination for refusing to rent apartments to blacks and families with children. It took him three years to pay a settlement to end the lawsuit. 

Next we heard that former general manager Elgin Baylor sued Sterling by accusing him for firing him “on the basis of age and race.”   Sterling has had a history of being openly racist but his recent comment once again prove that the NBA needs to take a harder stance on racism and deal with it in a manner that is appropriate and shows that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated at any level.

Last week, TMZ found audio footage of Sterling talking to his girlfriend and telling her that he didn’t want her to bring African Americans to his game anymore.

Per TMZ, Sterling allegedly said, “You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that…and not to bring them to my games.”

The girlfriend had posted a picture of herself and Magic Johnson on her Instagram account which has now been deleted. The ironic and ridiculous part about all this is that the Clippers three most essential pieces to their team’s success are African American in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and coach Doc Rivers.

The NBA should not allow this man to own a NBA franchise any longer. New commissioner Adam Silver has a Goodell-and-Vick-like opportunity to step up and take action early in his regime. He has a chance to do something that his predecessor David Stern failed to do on many occasions.

Simply letting Sterling go this long without punishment shows some sort of weakness within the NBA front office. Donald Sterling is a disgrace of a human being, a disgrace to the NBA and a disgrace to all of his African American employees. If I were any of the Clippers players or coaches, I would seriously consider boycotting the rest of the season until Sterling stepped down as owner. Drastic times call for drastic measures and with star player Chris Paul heading the Players Association, and Kevin Johnson involved, this situation is far from over.

Much has been made recently about the Clippers decision to cover up the Lakers championship banners and retired jerseys during Clipper home games and I don’t understand why. When the Clippers have a home game they deserve to be able to make it their own arena and just because they share the stadium with the Lakers doesn’t mean that they need to keep Laker stuff all around.

Covering up the purple and gold is a ploy by an organization that finally is looking to step out from under the huge shadow of their big brother. The Clippers may have covered the banners up but everyone still knows what is behind the cover. As a NBA fan, I wish the Clippers luck this season as they try and become a powerhouse NBA team.

Staples Center is home to both the Clippers and Lakers but is more known because of the purple and gold. By Prayitno from Los Angeles, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

I find it extremely comical that now that the Clippers are relevant, the “fans” have started to come out of their shell and support the team. Before the “basketball reasons” incident from a few years ago, you could walk down the street in Los Angeles and not see a single Clippers anything, no billboards, no merchandise being worn, nothing. Although I will admit that the Clippers have become the most exciting team in Los Angeles, they will never be the city’s favorite. Since the Lakers moved to LA, they have built such a strong fan base that their dominance will never be broken — no matter how good the Clippers become. Even though the Clippers are now a title contender, based off their history they are still a borderline NBA franchise until they prove otherwise. One division title in the 43 years the organization has been around is not a great track record. Many people would disagree with my take on who runs Los Angeles, but until they win anything, I stand by my statement. If they do end up winning anything I will be the first to take it back.

After winning a team-record 56 games last season, the Clippers seemed to finally be able to break through and make a run at an NBA title but ended up being bounced in the first round and ended up having only two more playoff wins than a depleted Lakers team without Kobe Bryant. People might look at that statistic as irrelevant but to me that says a lot about the two teams that share Staples.

This season looks to be different with the addition of Doc Rivers and some new players and time will tell. When the Lakers and Clippers are talked about, many people use the words “bragging rights” pertaining to the regular season wins. For me though, the Clippers can have all the regular season wins against the Lakers they want because at the end of the day championships are what matter most. Last time I checked the tally was 16-0 in favor of the purple and gold. If the Clippers ever want to be associated with the Lakers as a great franchise, they will have to do more than cover up the Laker championship banners in the building and start adding some of their own. Fans and analysts can talk all they want about Los Angeles being a Clipper town now and they aren’t wrong about them being the better team, but Los Angeles is and always will be a Laker town.

The 2013 NBA offseason had major implications on the fate of the league in the coming years. This offseason brought fans many unusual moves. Big-name players switched teams, the “bad” teams got better, and some of the most historic teams in history look as they are going to fall off the map for awhile. Clearly, the league is going through some changes both in players and perception.

Can LeBron and the Heat win a third straight NBA title or will another team de-throne them? By Steve Jurvetson (Flickr: LeBron James), via Wikimedia Commons

Josh Smith joined the Pistons, Andre Igoudala joined Golden State (this one happened before Howard), Al Jefferson joined the Bobcats, Chris Kaman and Nick Young went to the Lakers, Metta World Peace joined the Knicks, Paul Millsap went to Atlanta, Brandon Knight and Brandon Jennings were traded for each other, Monta Ellis went to Dallas, Greg Oden and Michael Beasley joined Miami, Chauncey Billups went back to Detroit and Andrew Bynum and his hair move to Cleveland, where (of course) a bank is located.

Within all the madness, there were a few retirements and coaching moves too. Doc Rivers left Boston to become the Clippers coach, and Jason Kidd became the Nets coach. George Karl and Lionel Hollins lost their jobs despite the Nuggets and Grizzlies having great seasons. In addition to Jason Kidd retiring, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady also decided it was time to hang it up.

For me, one move made me feel sick to my stomach and I’m a Lakers fan. Longtime Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were dealt to the Nets and for some reason that makes me mad. It has recently come out that LeBron and the Miami Heat are critical of the move since both Pierce and Garnett criticized Ray Allen last season for leaving Boston and joining Miami. Unlike Allen, Pierce and Garnett were traded away, and although Garnett waived his no trade clause he did it because he wanted to keep playing alongside Pierce. The move of Pierce and Garnett means the Celtics (like the Lakers) will probably have less than spectacular seasons ahead.

The NBA looks as it is shaping up to be great in the next ten or so years and I for one, am very excited. There is so much young talent in the league and it will only get better. The 2013-14 season tips off in a couple weeks and I will be glued to my TV all season long.

Who do you think was the biggest NBA move of the summer? Comment below!