A couple of weeks ago Bill Simmons went on a mini twitter rant where he said that the Los Angeles Clippers were still a dysfunctional organization even after Steve Ballmer bought the team from Donald Sterling. Until now there had been no evidence of what Simmons was talking about but he said it would come out soon and it appears that he is correct. It is being reported that president of business operations Gillian Zucker and Doc Rivers are having a power struggle and the Clippers players are none too happy about it, according to TMZ Sports.
Zucker was Ballmer's first major hire when he became the owner of the Clippers and she is reportedly at the center of all of these internal problems. This comes from people inside the Clippers organziation and apparently some players too. People within the organization feel that Zucker is "not just stepping on Doc Rivers' toes but she's creating a divide."
Rivers is not only the head coach but he is also the president of basketball operations meaning he has the final say on all roster decisions but this news makes it unclear if he is actually in charge. Zucker's job description states that she helps the Clippers on the business side of things while Rivers is supposed to handle all basketball related things. Those two jobs shouldn't really interfere all that much but from the sounds of it they are big time.
Zucker has reportedly made herself into a second boss and she is typically not on the same page as Rivers so players described it as having "two bosses telling you to do two different things." Zucker was in NASCAR before she came over to the NBA and she reportedly doesn't have a good feel for NBA culture and her power struggle with Rivers has even led one former player to not re-sign with the Clippers because it "wasn't worth the headache."
People within the organization still apparently like Ballmer as an owner but they also think he needs to get a handle on this situation or it might "explode." This news seems like just the start of what might come out about the Clippers organization so stay tuned as there will likely be a lot more dirty laundry aired in the near future.
