allanjameson | LAL

63 | 16 hours ago

Probably because the case has concluded

CutLonzosHair2017 [OP] | LAL

52 | 16 hours ago

It has not, SEC is investigating.

allanjameson | LAL

14 | 16 hours ago

Is that Kelley’s speciality or is he a specialist in collective bargaining/ arbitration issues at O’Melveny?… or is he a federal criminal defense lawyer?

[deleted]

1 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

refreshing_yogurt

18 | 16 hours ago

The article specifically says this lawyer was also representing Ballmer in the Aspiration civil suit, which has not concluded, but there are different lawyers doing that now.

Entire-Joke4162

7 | 16 hours ago

I’m guessing he has like 4 lawyers on rotation all billing $1200/hr

I don’t say that saying that’s crazy, either, that’s just how it works

lolaonbigmouth

7 | 10 hours ago

$1200/hr is midlevel associate money these days. Top partners regularly bill over $2500/hr.

[deleted]

1 | 16 hours ago

[deleted]

a_talking_face

7 | 16 hours ago

Actually the article specifically says that Kelley was specifically retained for NBA related matters, and since the portion with the NBA has concluded, his work is done.

Three sources familiar with the matter tell FOS that Ballmer is no longer actively working with Kelley or O’Melveny. Two sources say Ballmer had hired Kelley specifically to work on the NBA-related matters he was dealing with, and that the change was made because there was no arbitration process for Ballmer to pursue in the Leonard situation. While the suspended Clippers owner had initially indicated he planned to fight the league’s findings and punishments, he has since reversed course.

refreshing_yogurt

3 | 16 hours ago

That’s true, that part of it is in the article as well. To me it doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny though and seems like saving face for those involved. Like Doc Rivers “stepping down” from being the Bucks coach

The civil suit feels as NBA related to me as it did before. So either the suit is not NBA related and Ballmer was fine with this lawyer handling non NBA related things and something changed. Or the suit is NBA related and the NBA specialist attorney should still be involved.

OtherwiseMoose8257 | East

1 | 9 hours ago

Rich guys dont fire lawyers because matters are settled. They always have work for lawyers.

LegitimateMoney00 | NYK

801 | 16 hours ago

I’m assuming he did this to try smooth things over with the league. This attorney publicly insulted Adam Silver on several occasions, can’t have your lawyer be doing that.

CanadianDarkKnight | BOS

434 | 16 hours ago

“How dare you say the things I told you to say? You’re fired!”

Sircamembert | LAL

317 | 16 hours ago

Nah, it’s more like, “Hey, thanks for being my sock puppet and saying all the things I wanted to say to that bald vampire. Here’s a big fat severance check. Enjoy your new yacht!”

OpeDefinitely | IND

50 | 16 hours ago

“wish you well on your next bridge burning mission!”

bikedork5000

18 | 15 hours ago

You can make good money bring the lawyer for Very wealthy people. But not yacht money.

Cold_Drive_53144

2 | 7 hours ago

In Balmer’s case, here’s an island..

Logical_Welder3467

63 | 16 hours ago

That’s what the money are for

jefe_hook

16 | 16 hours ago

That’s why they hired a lawyer or agent. To do/say stuff that they would not personally do/say.

Kryptos33

4 | 15 hours ago

I was conned again!

Intrepid-Product-367

90 | 16 hours ago

This is classic “crisis CEO” stuff. There is a LOT of money in taking the fall at the end of a massive disaster.

You pay a dude $400 an hour (probably more, honestly) to talk shit about Adam Silver and when you lose the case you drop the guy like a hot potato. Everyone knows what the deal is. David Kelley will be just fine.

krackenracer

70 | 16 hours ago

more like 2k an hour.

Intrepid-Product-367

8 | 16 hours ago

even in a market where players are (allegedly) turning down 200 million dollar deals I really don’t think the audience would understand what kind of money spreadsheet jockeys and word document people can push if they’re in the right position

so I said 400 lol

Jon_ofAllTrades

40 | 15 hours ago

$400 per hour is like what you pay a small time local lawyer to settle disputes with your locally owned coffee shop.

Cervical_Plumber

15 | 11 hours ago

Hey, that’s me! $370 an hour, lol. Yes, I'm small-time. Ballmer's attorney is $1500+ for sure.

I_Luv_Asparagussy

7 | 14 hours ago

Well maybe the barista shouldn’t have misspelled my name! A-S-P-A-R-A-G-U-S-S-Y it’s not hard smh

Swolyguacomole

4 | 15 hours ago

One of the lawyers involved in the Man City case was making 5k an hour apparently 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Cov-Lite

2 | 8 hours ago

Lmao partners are billing over $2k now

neuroticsmurf | BOS

5 | 12 hours ago

I’d be surprised if Silver took that personally. He’s sophisticated enough to know that Kelley was just doing his job.

What seems more likely to me is Ballmer wasn’t happy with the results that Kelley brought to the job.

Tryhard_3

4 | 12 hours ago

Well, while Ballmer was doing a PR campaign, Leonard and the NBA boxed in the Clippers.

False_Dimension9212

2 | 11 hours ago

And Ballmer was given a harsher punishment because he didn’t cooperate with the investigation.

Wouldn’t be surprised if the lawyer told him not to cooperate. That whatever punishment was handed down, they’d sue and win

un-affiliated | CHI

2 | 7 hours ago

There’s no way in hell a top lawyer told him that. People on here really overestimate a lawyer or agent’s role in deciding these things. The client makes the decision, the lawyer implements it as well as they can. And if it turns out to be a bad decision, the lawyer/agent are not allowed to throw the client under the bus.

Ballmer is 100% the stubborn one who decided not to negotiate and made sure everyone around him followed suit. Lawyers know better than anyone that no outcome is guaranteed and they will all tell the client that, even with a strong case, which this wasn’t.

NH4NO3-KClO3-C2H6O2 | GSW

1 | 15 hours ago

Balk rules

[deleted]

1 | 16 hours ago

[deleted]

No_Command_8477 | LAL

272 | 16 hours ago

33 years of being owned by a cheap racist landlord

12 years of corporate corruption

Hotdiggity11

96 | 16 hours ago

Who are the Los Angeles Clippers, Alex (RIP)?

lalakingmalibog | DAL

27 | 16 hours ago

Shuck it, Trebek!

jchavez9723 | LAC

47 | 16 hours ago

Manchester City without the titles

Robinsonirish | Finland

43 | 14 hours ago

Clippers cheating is peanuts compared to Man City, money wise. 50 million vs >1 billion. The problem for the EPL is that they invited literal governments into the sport, and they are way more powerful than the entire league. Abu Dhabi is now threatening to pull investments from GBR if punished, which is billions.

jchavez9723 | LAC

-4 | 14 hours ago

What’s gonna be City’s punishment? I reckon they too rich to be hit with a 5 first round pick removal type punishment equivalent?

Robinsonirish | Finland

13 | 14 hours ago

We really don’t know, just like we didn’t know what the NBA would do with Ballmer before it happens. Abu Dhabi is much more powerful in the EPL than Ballmer is in the NBA. They invited the wolves to the table, and now they have to deal with the consequences.

I really dislike the EPL personally for what they’ve done with European football. The fans might still be English, but only 3 teams are English-owned, it’s just foreign conglomerates, governments, and shady shit. It’s going to go on for years and years, the other teams are going to sue due to lost revenue because of the cheating. I don’t really feel anyone has a grasp on what will happen, smaller teams have been hit with massive point deductions for cheating that doesn’t come anywhere close to this.

Man City just handed in their appeal, and IIRC the EPL now has 10 days to respond, and then hand out their punishement within 12 weeks, according to the rules. Might get the dates slightly wrong, but we’ll know within 3 months I think.

BrotherSeamus | OKC

2 | 3 hours ago

10 first round picks

xixbia

-7 | 11 hours ago

The UK government spents 1.4 trillion a year.

UK GDP is 4.2 trillion.

Billions in investments is fuck all.

Robinsonirish | Finland

11 | 11 hours ago

Not for the EPL. You’re delusional if you don’t think Abu Dhabi has massive leverage in this situation.

SantosCalzonesBatman | SAS

0 | 15 hours ago

I mean, at least the cheater tried to win i guess

No_Command_8477 | LAL

1 | 15 hours ago

CP3 was gifted to the Clippers from David Stern, and then Ballmer proceeded to cheat his ass off. He also compared Blake Griffin to MLK Jr. They deserve no credit, they are pathetic

SantosCalzonesBatman | SAS

1 | 15 hours ago

Cool, he tried to win unlike sterling and 70% of the owners

Still a cheater that won fuck all.

MVPJimmyHarden

0 | 15 hours ago

Your hatred warms my heart.

IamInternationalBig

131 | 16 hours ago

The counsel’s biggest mistake was trying to fight the charges rather than make a deal. Kelley was dumb enough to not know there was no arbitration process that Ballmer could use.

mfgillia2001

107 | 16 hours ago

It’s not his mistake though - it’s his client who early on went on interviews lying about it.

IamInternationalBig

9 | 16 hours ago

Kelley took a very adversarial tone with the league. If Ballmer instructed him to do that, then sure it’s on Ballmer. But the way that correspondence came out, it did not sound like Ballmer’s tone.

refreshing_yogurt

52 | 16 hours ago

What do you think Ballmer’s tone sounds like? He’s never exactly been understated or subtle. Being super dramatic and fiery is kinda his thing.

_souphanousinphone_ | PHI

12 | 16 hours ago

You have no idea what Ballmer’s tone is. Additionally, let’s not be naive. He’s getting paid by Balmer, he’s more than likely taking the tone Balmer wants.

mfgillia2001

24 | 16 hours ago

Possible Kelley was operating in a vacuum without the direct instructions of his client but much more likely his actions and tone were driven by Ballmer.

a_talking_face

10 | 16 hours ago

At the very least, all of this was run by Ballmer before it happened. Attorneys don’t just act on their own.

Robinsonirish | Finland

2 | 14 hours ago

I’m just happy for young mothers and fathers with little kids, that want to go to NBA games. I always thought I might be a clipper fan myself, considering the stories I’ve read of parents being able to afford the cheap clipper tickets during the purgatory days.

Trash franchises are good for the economy and the plebs.

[deleted]

1 | 16 hours ago

[deleted]

This_Excitement_5191

56 | 16 hours ago

That was Ballmers statement, not his lawyers. Hes changing his stance on the issue, and sacking the lawyer saves some face and lets him build a new defence from the ground up.

They aren’t operating like an aggrieved party anymore, so the old narrative has gotta go.

Zinniai

3 | 16 hours ago

Bro got fired right after the ‘witch hunt’ ended. That’s one way to close the case.

AboutaDirk

3 | 16 hours ago

Later, Pablo Torre finds out David Kelley had a lucrative no-show endorsement deal with Niman Ranch, Intuit Dome’s official all-beef hot-dog supplier.

ecclectic_collector

9 | 16 hours ago

wonder if Ballmer’s going to blame the strong statements against the NBA on Kelley in the hopes that the NBA eventually returns a pick or two down the line because Ballmer eventually accepted the punishment

This_Excitement_5191

12 | 16 hours ago

Silver confirmed at the governors meeting that the punishments are staying firm. The clippers aren’t getting those picks back

DecentDiver458

5 | 13 hours ago

I mean he hasnt even lost the picks yet as they are from the future.

Wolves got them back after a few years of remorse, clippers could too

kamekaze1024

2 | 5 hours ago

Clippers are repeat offenders. They deserve no remorse unless they clean house entirely with a new owner.

Wolves did it once on a smaller scale.

Twaffles95 | MIN

2 | 12 hours ago

I highly doubt it as more side deals are still being investigated by the league and by Pablo

lochnesslapras

1 | 12 hours ago

Also a very remote possibility, but a new NBA Commissioner might come with some leniency.

Ballmer certainly has the money to try influencing a change over the next few years if he’s petty enough.

soulsides | GSW

0 | 7 hours ago

Why would:

a case from over 25 years ago
under a different commissioner
with presumably all different governors
in a fundamentally different economic era
under a significantly different CBA
involving a fundamentally different set of deceptions, denials, and outright fabrications

…be any kind of useful precedent for now? At this point, we can safely say that the only thing that Joe Smith and the Timberwolves and Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers have in common is that their cases both involves cap circumference in the NBA. But that’s it. Every other circumstance is significantly different. I don’t see why people keep talking about Joe Smith at this point given how little those cases have in common

DecentDiver458

0 | 7 hours ago

Dont you know how your own justice system works?

mwachs

-2 | 16 hours ago

This is smart.

Unsungsongs

5 | 16 hours ago

Was this the same lawyer who threatened to take the league to arbitration AFTER the league had settled with Kawhi and the Players Association? If so I’m surprised he survived this long

Entire-Joke4162

2 | 16 hours ago

It was definitely interesting learning to hear that after settling with the players association there was essentially no internal recourse for Ballmer

Being all game theory about it, it has to be why Kawhi was offered such a sweetheart deal to just lock that shit up so they had to go to actual court court instead of do it within the league

ryan0319 | TOR

6 | 16 hours ago

I honestly think that Balmers best choice is to lean into his cheating and asking for forgiveness… dont fight it, it’s out there…

Play the the, “I wanted to win so bad and bring a chip to to LA for a team that’s not the Lakers”… I went to far, I pushed the limits…”

“I now understand I cheated, but I was trying to bend the rules / push the limit like everyone else”. Although he he surpassed bending into cheating.

I honestly believe if he owns it, it may take time, but he can get past this…

I am a raptors fan and truly believe he was going to Cali anyways. I wish he stayed… but shit happened. Im glad he is at least not using his billions to fuck the league like he could have.

Gagabubu777

31 | 15 hours ago

He cant, hes under federal investigation and has already lied about the aspiration connecttion to the feds.

Anymore or admiting guilt and he could be in serious trouble. Might still be

nbd789 | MIN

13 | 15 hours ago

Ballmer has more than enough money for a sizable donation to $DJT AND a wedding in the Bahamas

3my0 | POR

3 | 14 hours ago

And that’s just a weeks returns on investments!

Ok_Pay_6811

2 | 8 hours ago

It would be cheaper to just not admit to anything

Gagabubu777

2 | 4 hours ago

Sad that this is where we’re at. I have no doubt its always been like this but so out in the open yikes

SA1996

11 | 16 hours ago

Lol, it’s way too late for that.

That should have been his approach.

ryan0319 | TOR

0 | 16 hours ago

Agreed… I feel like my story would had made things much better… but alas hahaha

MostBookkeeper3019

3 | 15 hours ago

It’s clear now that the reason he has been so fervently denying it since the very beginning is because he has always known that there was actual criminal behavior tied into it and not too far from this nexus. He will never admit it because a real case is currently being built against him.

Or, he’s made the proper donations to the current administration and the justice department won’t do anything about it, but he still can’t admit it because we now know somebody like Pablo can out the pieces together publicly and they may then have no choice.

yuhanz | PHO

1 | 10 hours ago

Hi, David Kelley.

althawk8357 | ATL

1 | 8 hours ago

“I didn’t cheat. I misinterpreted the rules.”

noname_SU

1 | 5 hours ago

lol no team owner would ever say they cheated. what is the point of having all of that wealth if you can’t pass the buck to someone lower in the pecking order?

Live-Cartographer-52

2 | 16 hours ago

I would cry not being on Balmer payroll

SmokingSlippers

2 | 12 hours ago

They expect one of us in the wreckage brother

GoGreeb

2 | 10 hours ago

He got scammed by this guy too!

Gvillegator | BOS

2 | 9 hours ago

“The buck stops with him! Not me!”

lawsnoosoo | CHI

3 | 13 hours ago

This is such a nothing article. It says the lawyer added to the case docket was already Ballmer’s primary lawyer and Kelley was brought in to deal with the NBA investigation which is now done. Seems like a pretty straightforward case of the matter being handed over to the primary attorney since Kelley’s reason for being brought in is moot. This is like extraordinarily typical, most businesses/rich people have a vendor list of law firms and lawyers they work with depending on the nature of the case. This is like saying Ballmer “fired” his real estate attorney after the real estate deal he was working on closed.

dontgetitwisted_fr | TOR

2 | 16 hours ago

Balmer’s ego needs a scapegoat and lawyers with large retainers are replaceable and can be found under any rock

BigStrongPolarGuy

2 | 15 hours ago

Honestly, I’ve doubted David Kelley’s legal acumen since The Practice and Boston Legal. Neither of those seemed particularly realistic.

Edit: Damn, David E. Kelley also made Ally McBeal and The Lincoln Lawyer, wrote extensively for L.A. Law, and was a former attorney. Maybe I was unfair to him in making this joke.

Shepher27 | MIN

2 | 8 hours ago

Did he fire him or does he just no longer require his services?

kwunyinli

1 | 6 hours ago

The TV show Suits taught me that rich people can keep lawyers on retainer ready to deploy when necessary so this “firing” could mean Kelley no longer is on standby for Ballmer.

Echoplanar_Reticulum

1 | 16 hours ago

it’s to publicly attempt to exonerate himself for his behavior and actions through the investigation as it’s his lawyers fault. Ballmer is just a pawn.

pheneyherr

1 | 16 hours ago

Gonna have to sacrifice Zucker next.

asmallthrowaway9 | SAC

1 | 16 hours ago

David Kelley at the moment

Decent_Pack_3064

1 | 15 hours ago

sometime lawyers isnt the best person for you

Crying_in_99Ranch | NBA

1 | 15 hours ago

A billionaire changing lawyers is not exactly newsworthy

rich-roma | SEA

1 | 15 hours ago

they expect one of us in the wreckage brother

Cheap_Discipline_603

1 | 14 hours ago

Fuck all the way off

OwlNo3591

1 | 2 hours ago

I can’t believe David Kelley tricked ballmer like that. Someone fine him

El_Laker

-1 | 16 hours ago

All I know is OP hates the Clips.

This_Excitement_5191

6 | 16 hours ago

Everyone should hate the clippers, they’re cheaters

El_Laker

3 | 16 hours ago

Not a fan either, but OP’s hate boner is next level. His post history from a few weeks ago was amazing levels of hate.

Agile_Variety_632 | NOP

2 | 16 hours ago

Not all Lakers fans, but it’s always a Lakers flair.

El_Laker

3 | 15 hours ago

No its always just u/cutlonzoshair2017

Robinsonirish | Finland

1 | 11 hours ago

It’s OK, we all hate someone, at least in a sports sense. I personally hate Josh Kushner’s team.

Radiant_Sherbert7272 | TOR

1 | 16 hours ago

Why? Did something happen?

ihatedougford | TOR

1 | 16 hours ago

He should fire Ty Lue next for letting 50 year old Al Horford end the Kawhi era (on the court)

BlockedByMobley | Lebanon

0 | 16 hours ago

He should fire Lawrence Frank next for taking Wagler over Burries.

Minute-Spinach-5563 | PHI

3 | 16 hours ago

And for taking notes on a motherfucking criminal conspiracy

licketyspeedster

1 | 16 hours ago

Yeah add retaliation to the list of charges

cutriet

0 | 16 hours ago

Don’t feels sorry for the lawyer. His billable hours after this was well worth it. They know what they were doing.

phonage_aoi | GSW

-1 | 16 hours ago

If he wasn’t his lawyer before the case then his contract is just ending. Nothing burger of a story.

If he was an inhouse lawyer or whatever; then it’s entirely possible the rumors about the NBA trying to settle with Ballmer to save face were totally true and he’s blaming this guy for rejecting that and getting the book thrown at them.

This_Excitement_5191

2 | 16 hours ago

I think fired is intentional language. That contract didn’t end

phonage_aoi | GSW

2 | 16 hours ago

Right and fired doesn’t appear anywhere in the article. Those are OP’s words only.

Ballmer’s has a new legal team, no idea why. Cheaper? Angry at the old guy? No one’s actually said anything.

This_Excitement_5191

1 | 16 hours ago

It’s probably because there’s been a strategy change. Dropping your lawyer in the middle of an SEC investigation is a sign they’re retreating from their previous stance.

Guys like David Kelley aren’t the types to having ticking contracts either. He was let go on purpose.

[deleted]

1 | 14 hours ago

[deleted]

Steve Ballmer has fired David Kelley, the lawyer who issued the statement calling the NBA’s investigation a witch hunt after the punishment was implemented.