Oprah Winfrey weighs bid to buy Clippers

LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- Oprah Winfrey might team up with media magnate David Geffen and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in a bid to buy the Los Angeles Clippers, should owner Donald Sterling be forced to sell.

Winfrey's spokeswoman confirmed the news Wednesday, one day after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the league had banned Sterling for life, following racist remarks attributed to him on an audio recording.

The 60-year-old media mogul, whose net worth is estimated at $2.9 billion, initially denied speculation that she would try to buy the Clippers -- saying it would be "really cool" if Magic Johnson bought the team -- but appeared to change her mind after Silver's announcement.

"Oprah is not interested in running the team," Geffen told ESPN on Wednesday. "She thinks it would be a great thing for an important black American to own [another] franchise.

"The team deserves a better group of owners who want to win. Larry would sooner die than fail. I would sooner die than fail. Larry's a sportsman. We've talked about this for a long time. Between the three of us, we have a good shot," he added.

Magic Johnson, Floyd Mayweather, Diddy and Rick Ross have also expressed interest in purchasing the team.

I will always be a Knicks fan, but I am a business man. #DiddyBuyTheClippers #NameYourPrice

— Diddy (@iamdiddy) April 29, 2014