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Steve Ballmer says he is keeping Clippers in Los Angeles, not Seattle

By Josh Hill

May 15, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Clippers bench reacts during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
May 15, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Clippers bench reacts during the fourth quarter in game six of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Los Angeles Clippers will soon be in the possession of Steve Ballmer and will no longer be under the control of the Sterling family, which is exciting a lot of people. But while basketball fans in general are happy to see the Clippers on their way to a new owner, fans in Los Angeles are a little nervous about Ballmer’s interests in bringing a team back to Seattle after the Sonics were lost to Oklahoma City.

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Ballmer has since spoken out about the whole sale of the team and continues to reiterate that while he has interests in Seattle, he’s not going to be moving the team there and fully intends to keep the Clippers a big part of the Los Angeles sports scene.

"“I love basketball,” he said. “And I intend to do everything in my power to ensure that the Clippers continue to win — and win big — in Los Angeles. L.A. is one of the world’s great cities — a city that embraces inclusiveness, in exactly the same way that the NBA and I embrace inclusiveness. I am confident that the Clippers will in the coming years become an even bigger part of the community.”"

We heard Ballmer before the bid was placed say that he intended to keep the Clippers in Los Angeles and it seems like he’s staying true to his word. The sale isn’t yet official, but it’s hard to see the league approving the sale of Ballmer had intentions of then moving it to Seattle.

He doesn’t seem to plan on doing that which means there aren’t any major kinks in this $2 billion sale for anything in the process to get snagged on. The Clippers don’t belong to Ballmer yet, but it’s now only a matter of a vote and some finalization before the Clippers belong to a new owner.

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