It seemed to be an odd proposal to begin with, but Magic Johnson ended all speculation Tuesday night: He is not interested in buying the Los Angeles Clippers.
Magic Johnson Implores commisioner Adam Silver to take Clippers from Donald Sterling
USA TODAY Sports' For the Win posted a tweet from the Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame guard and minority owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers refuting a Yahoo! Sports report that he was looking into purchasing the Lakers' crosstown rival.
To NBA Fans, I want to put a stop to a rumor. I am not trying to buy the Clippers, they already have an owner.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 29, 2014
Johnson previously had vowed never to attend another Clippers game as long as Donald Sterling owned the team. Sterling is facing a firestorm after TMZ and Deadspin obtained 15 minutes of audio of racist marks that are alleged to be from Sterling.
Johnson also was one of several voices to call for a boycott of Clippers games and said he thought of Sterling as a friend.
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Yahoo! Sports, however, indicated Sunday that Magic was looking to be part of the NBA's plan to wrest control of the Clippers away from Sterling:
"Magic Johnson and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners, want a chance to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. 'Magic's absolutely interested,' one source closely connected to Johnson's business interests told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night.
"To bail themselves out of the NBA's worst crisis of credibility since the Tim Donaghy officiating scandal, the easy part for the NBA will be enlisting the eagerness and financial muscle of Magic Johnson and Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Partners - owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"Make no mistake: Magic's Dodgers group is angling for a Southern California sports empire. Magic Johnson and Guggenheim had been aggressive in pursuing a purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers - only to have the Buss family make clear to them the franchise isn't for sale, sources told Yahoo Sports.
" 'This is 100 percent Magic's plan,' " a league official intimately involved in the buying and selling of franchises told Yahoo Sports."
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