Yao Ming throws his hat into the Clippers ring
Former Chinese NBA star is lining up investors to make a bid for scandal-rocked franchise
Yao is just the latest celebrity to be linked to a potential Clippers bid since Sterling was engulfed in a scandal over racially charged remarks that became public in April.
ESPN, citing unnamed sources, said that Yao and another former NBA player, Grant Hill, were working separately to find investors to launch bids.
Sterling is reported to have surrendered control of the club to his estranged wife, Shelly, who is in talks with the league to sell the team.
The Clippers are valued at nearly US$600 million by Forbes magazine and could fetch substantially more given the publicity surrounding the team and their location in a major US market.
Yao became an NBA star with the Houston Rockets, who made him the first pick in the 2002 NBA draft.