Report: Magic Johnson Is Positioning Himself To Buy The Clippers

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In what could be the perfect solution to the NBA's most recent crisis, Magic Johnson and his financial backers, the Guggenheim Partners, are quickly making a move to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers from Donald Sterling, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo.com.

"Magic's absolutely interested," one source close to Johnson told Wojnarowski.

A league official told Yahoo.com "This is 100% Magic's plan."

Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 for $2 billion, and Wojnarowski notes that they recently made a run at buying the Los Angeles Lakers before being told the team would not be sold by the Buss family.

The move would be great for the NBA because it would oust an owner everybody wants out of the league and transfer the team to a local hero whose partners have deep pockets. (The group paid for the Dodgers in cash.)

The group also recently helped the NBA by purchasing the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA two months ago. The team had been struggling financially, and the purchase was viewed by many as a way to tie the group closer to the NBA.

Forbes.com recently valued the Clippers at $575 million. However, Wojnarowski speculates Sterling could get "$1 billion-plus" for the franchise.

That would be a nice parting gift for Sterling after purchasing the team for just $12.5 million in 1981.