Bill Simmons thinks the Clippers will sell for $1.7 billion

Apr 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Clippers bench celebrates teammate center DeAndre Jordan (6) making a free throw to increase the lead over the Golden State Warriors to 10 points in the 4th quarter of game five of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /

After NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s press conference when he announced he would do what he could to force Donald Sterling to sell the Los Angeles Clippers, names started surfacing that were reportedly interested. The notable names included rappers Diddy and Dr. Dre, as well as boxers Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, and even a super trio of Oprah Winfrey, David Geffen and Larry Ellison.

The real question is how much would the Clippers, one of the least successful franchises in all of sports, get on the market? In a olumn about the ousting of Donald Sterling on Thursday, ESPN’s Bill Simmons threw out what seems like a ridiculous estimation,

“My gut feeling: $1.75 billion. And that might be low,” Simmons wrote.

Keep in mind that Forbes, who releases a valuation of franchises annually, valued the Clippers at $575 million. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising for Sterling to get more than that for the team, parties would be bidding against one another driving up the price. While the franchise hasn’t historically been successful, they’re good now and in a strong Los Angeles media market.

Surely whoever gets the Clippers might “overpay” but would a group of business savvy billionaires over-pay to the extent of nearly three times their value?

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