Report: Grant Hill-led group submits $1.2 billion offer for Clippers

It looks like the bidding for the Los Angeles Clippers organization will start just north of $1 billion dollars.

According to Scott Sohnick of Bloomberg.com, the Grant Hill-led Southern California investment group has submitted a bid of $1.2 billion for Donald Sterling’s Los Angeles Clippers.

It was reported just four days ago by ESPN’s Marc Stein that Grant Hill, former NBA player and host of NBA TV’s “Inside Stuff”, had partnered up with Ressler and Karsh and accordion to Stein’s sources, this group is highly regarded around the NBA.

"Sources told ESPN.com that Hill’s group is already regarded by league officials as a viable contender for the Clippers in what is forecast to be a highly competitive auction when the franchise finally hits the open market. One industry source told ESPN.com this week that the bidding could start as high as the $1.5 billion range.via Grant Hill, SoCal investors team up"

Based on all information available, four groups have emerged as contenders for the purchase of this franchise. Obviously the first is the Hill-Ressler-Karsh group. Second would be the Oprah Winfrey-led group who has teamed up with the likes of Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Beats Electronics and Laurene Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, along with many others to bolster her chances of landing the franchise. The third group would consist of Microsoft co-founder Steve Ballmer who has recently met with Shelly Sterling in regards to the purchase of the franchise. The final group would be led by LA’s richest citizen in Patrick Soon-Shiong who is currently a minority owner in the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA will hold a vote on June 3rd to decide on Sterling’s ownership.