Doc Rivers Says Donald Sterling Almost Nixed J.J. Redick Signing Because he Didn’t 'Like White Players'

Watch @TurnerSportsEJ and @LAClippers Head Coach @DocRivers NOW on #NBATogether with Ernie Johnson. ⬇️https://t.co/sjcy3rxHGh

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“I think he was going to sign with Minnesota, I literally talk J.J. out of it, ‘Come play with me. Come play with the Clippers with Chris Paul and DJ and Blake [Griffin], you’d be a great fit.’… The free agent signing is done, J.J. agrees, I jump on a plane, I fly back to Orlando, and I get a call from Andy Roeser, and he says, ‘the deal’s off.’ I say, ‘what do you mean the deal’s off?’

“‘Donald doesn’t like white players.’”

“I said, ‘excuse me?’ ‘Donald Sterling said no.’ I said, ‘well, we’ve already agreed.’ I’m in the garage at the Orlando Airport, Ernie, I get a call from Coach K, who is upset because of J.J. I get a call from J.J.’s agent, I think it was Arn Tellem [Ed. note: It was] who screaming at me.

“So I call Donald Sterling, and I think this was three weeks to a month into the job, I’m not sure but right in that area, me and Donald are having a ‘conversation.’ It made [a screaming, cussing argument with Doc’s then coach Pat Riley years before] look meek. So, by the very end of the conversation, I quit. I said, “Well, I quit’ [Immitating a screaming Sterling] ‘You’re not gonna quit.’ ‘I quit.’ ‘You’re not gonna quit.’…

“I said, ‘I’m not gonna let you ruin my reputation. Not gonna happen. It will never happen.’ And Donald goes in, ‘Oh, just trust me, I have this great reputation around the league.’ And I was screaming, ‘No, I have the reputation around the league, you don’t. I will not coach another day if this deal doesn’t go through.’ I hang up, and I remember going home and telling Chris [Paul], ‘I think I don’t have a job.’…

“Three hours later I get a call from Andy Roeser who says, ‘Hey man, deal’s done, Donald’s all in.’ Didn’t say why, didn’t say anything, just he changed his mind.

“I knew that minute we were in trouble.”

Deal was done on Tues in LA. Flew to Austin. Got a call from Doc at 6 pm July 4. “You better play for me mother f$cker”. Had no idea what he was talking about. Tried calling my agents. They didn’t answer calls for 48 hours. Finally Arn called Saturday PM to tell me what happened https://t.co/LRqHS4gtjz

— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) May 19, 2020