Questions About Clippers Remain After Sale to Steve Ballmer

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. - Los Angeles Clippers Coach Doc Rivers was sitting on stage, a microphone in hand, just starting to answer a question about the team's new owner, Steve Ballmer, when he paused.

'Hold on,' Rivers said, reaching into his pants pocket, and clicking off the ringer on his cellphone. 'I've got to turn my iPhone off.'

It was a joke, a playful jibe at Ballmer, the former Microsoft chief executive, who created a stir when he said in a recent interview with Reuters that he planned to ban all Apple products from the basketball team he just bought for $2 billion.

The technology police will not be descending on the Clippers' facilities, rifling through players' pockets and bags, confiscating iPhones and iPads, though the club will begin to turn away from using Apple phones and tablets, which the players use for scouting reports, after this season.

But Rivers's comedic turn helped illustrate how life is different around the organization as it shifts from three decades of ownership by Donald Sterling, who was forced to sell the team after his racially insensitive comments were made public last April.

Now, if there is a joke made at the expense of the Clippers' owner, they are in on it.

It was not that way last spring, when Sterling's comments disparaging African-Americans outraged the N.B.A. and thrust the Clippers into an unaccustomed spotlight. The outcry over Sterling dominated the story lines as the Clippers moved through the playoffs, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals, where they lost to Oklahoma City in six games.

'Last year, obviously, it was strange,' Rivers said Monday, before the team left for Las Vegas, where it will begin training camp. 'I know for three or four games, I don't think there was one basketball question asked. It would be nice for all of us if we could just be focused on being basketball players and I could focus on just being a basketball coach.'

For the Clippers, the basketball questions being asked are familiar. Can a franchise with a history of futility, and a team led Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan - none of whom have ever been past the second round of the playoffs - do what it takes to win a championship? Beneath the Lob City highlights, is there enough toughness and smarts?

As if to underscore that point, shortly after Griffin finished talking about his need to develop the mental part of his game, a point of emphasis for him during the summer, J. J. Redick and Matt Barnes followed him on stage. They took turns expressing their admiration of Griffin's well-chiseled abs in a photo shoot for GQ.

Redick wondered if they were well oiled.

'I don't think it's Photoshop,' Barnes said.

Mostly, the Clippers will have to get better from within. The most significant move over the summer was the free-agent signing of Spencer Hawes, a 7-foot backup center who can shoot well enough to stretch defenses. Darren Collison, the backup point guard, has been replaced by Jordan Farmar.

But the Clippers are not getting any younger. Barnes, who acknowledged he is better suited to coming off the bench, and Jamal Crawford, who won last season's sixth man award, are both 34. Redick, who battled injuries last season, is 30. Paul is 29.

'There's absolutely a sense of urgency,' Redick said. 'To be quite frank, we're all getting older. You never know how many opportunities you're going to get to be on a team that has a legitimate chance to win a championship.'

But the most widely noted move has been the addition of Ballmer.

Since ownership was transferred to Ballmer in August, his biggest move has been ripping up Rivers's contract, which had two years and $14 million remaining, and giving him a five-year deal worth more than $50 million.

There have been few changes on the business side. Richard Parsons, the interim chief executive appointed by the league, remains in place while Ballmer searches for a replacement. Eric Miller, the director of basketball administration and the son-in-law of Sterling, recently left the organization, though he was guaranteed two years under the terms of the sale.

Regarding Ballmer, Rivers said: 'He's been involved to the point he's needed to be involved. He's been great in that we talk a lot on the phone, and you can ask him questions. He's been wonderful so far.'

But it is hard to know just how much of an impact an owner can have on a basketball team. Ballmer will spend one day with the team in Las Vegas, and still has other ventures he is involved with. Mostly, the Clippers are learning about their new boss just as he is learning about them.

What appears to stand out is his enthusiasm.

'To give credit where credit is due, I think Sterling was headed in the right direction with what he was doing the last few years,' said Barnes, a journeyman who has played for nine owners.

Of Ballmer, Barnes said, 'His enthusiasm and love for the game is going to be amazing.'

Barnes noted that Ballmer's face gets red and his hands get sweaty when he watches basketball.

'From an owner you don't see that every day,' Barnes said. 'I think it's kind of refreshing to have someone that shares that same enthusiasm and passion about winning that you do. As a player, I love that, and it gives me chills.'

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