‘Trimmed’ Episodes Explained: Separating NBA Fact from Fiction in Season 1 of FX’s Donald Sterling Series

FX’s new show “Clipped” tells the story of the Lob City Clippers under the direction of their dysfunctional owner Donald Sterling.

How accurate is that representation?

The show is based on ESPN 30 for 30 podcast “The Sterling Affairs“, incorporates much of the reporting of renowned journalist Ramona Shelburne. But from time to time it requires some creative liberties.

Here’s how much each episode stuck to the facts. Warning: spoilers ahead.

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Cut Episode 1: Separating Fact from Fiction

Claim: V. Stiviano recorded Donald Sterling’s conversations with his consent

TRUE.

Shelburne details how Stiviano recorded his conversations with Sterling for years. He was aware of the recordings and agreed to them because he had been forgetting things he had told her, and the tapes were a way of reminding him.

Most of the recordings were mundane in nature. Some were explosive. The recordings shown in “Clipped” are mostly verbatim of conversations Sterling actually had.

Claim: Donald Sterling was known as a cheap landlord

TRUE.

“Clipped” begins with a scene in which Doc Rivers has to settle for a deli plate instead of more sophisticated options at his presentation lunch. Later, he and JJ Redick commiserate over Sterling’s reputation for tightfistedness.

The pound sterling had many cases of cheapening. His former coach Don Casey spoke to Shelburne about cutting costs on things like Clipper parties. “Plastic cups like this size, so you can’t drink too much wine. That’s fine. Little hot dogs on sticks, I mean, this guy is a billionaire,” he told Shelburne.

Some of the Craziest Things Sterling Did to Save Money We were going to play part of a season without a head coach, deny medical coverage to employees and try to convince coach Paul Silas to act as athletic trainer to save money.

Claim: Doc Rivers brought JJ Redick to Los Angeles, Donald Sterling tried to nix the deal because Redick was white, and Rivers almost quit

All this is true.

It is unclear whether Sterling originally thought Redick was black, but tried to cancel the deal because of Redick’s race.

Rivers has since spoken about the incident on TNT, as transcribed by Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.

“I think I was going to sign with Minnesota, I literally talked JJ out of it, ‘Come play with me.’ Come play with the Clippers with Chris Paul, DJ and Blake. [Griffin], you’d be a perfect fit.’… The free agent signing is done, JJ agrees, I get on a plane, I fly back to Orlando and I get a call from Andy Roeser, and he says, ‘the deal is off.’ . ‘ I say, ‘What do you mean the deal’s off?’ ‘Donald doesn’t like white players.'”

In fact, Rivers threatened to resign and Sterling changed his mind a few hours later.

Claim: Donald Sterling had white parties where he showed off his players

TRUE.

The Sterlings were famous for their white parties where everyone wore white except Donald, who wore black. They used it as a summer party to kick off the basketball season. Sterling would hire what he called “stewardesses,” but Shelburne classified them as “Glorified prostitutes, there to look good and entertain the male guests.”

“It was like it was definitely not the same type of crowd as us,” former Clipper Quentin Richardson told Shelburne.

“You just wanted to be somewhere else,” announcer Ralph Lawler said.

Claim: Blake Griffin and Chris Paul didn’t get along

The relationship between the two stars was complicated. They certainly weren’t the best of friends off the court, but the level of animosity between the two may not have been as strong as portrayed on the show.

Paul and Griffin had disagreements over who should be the leader of the Clippers. Griffin admitted that Paul “demands a lot from his teammates,” which could be a challenge.

The two seem to be on better terms now. Paul has since declared that he did not like Griffin as much as he should, and Griffin says the two are on good terms, calling the conflict “a narrative” and a non-story.

(NBA Getty Image)

Claim: Donald Sterling hated Magic Johnson and told V. Stiviano not to take pictures with minorities

As outrageous as Sterling’s comments may seem, they are verbatim of what was recorded on his leaked tapes.

“Clipped” does a great job with both the representation and consequences of the tapes. Stiviano attended a Dodgers game and posted a photo on Instagram with Johnson. And Sterling’s comments were exactly as described.

Sterling did have a more complicated relationship with the Magic than was shown. He alternated between showing respect for Magic and continually attacking him for his HIV diagnosis. Part of that anger arose from Magic’s refusal to help Sterling out of the mess he had created.

Claim: Donald Sterling brought people to the Clippers locker room while they changed

This is not only true, but it happened much more frequently than shown in “Clipped.”

Sterling regularly brought guests to the Clippers locker room while players changed. Richardson told Shelburne.

“And out of nowhere, here he comes. He arrives, he has his entourage with him, like women, men. Sometimes it can be more than 10 people, he walks in and obviously when the owner arrives, everyone goes “Stop, turn in.” turn around and give it the proper attention, but it’s like people are literally walking in and out of the shower, with their towels on, half undressed, half, you know what I’m saying, naked and stuff like that.”

Richardson’s teammate Darius Miles also recalled the incidents.

“He came in with his group of people and it was like, ‘Look how beautiful my players are. Look how beautiful you guys are. And you’re doing so well. Aren’t you beautiful?’ to the people he’s with and, you know, stuff like that.”

Older Clippers recalled similar incidents, including veteran Olden Polynice, who played for the team during two separate stints.

Claim: Donald Sterling bought cars from V. Stiviano and a duplex for $1.8 million

The truth is even more outlandish than the program presents.

Shelly Sterling alleged that Stiviano received a Ferrari, a Range Rover, two Bentleys and a $1.8 million duplex. Sterling also paid Stiviano $250,000 for his work.

Claim: V. Stiviano was sued for the gifts she received

TRUE.

Shelly Sterling filed a lawsuit to try to recover Stiviano’s gifts. In her lawsuit, she alleged that half of the money from her gifts belonged to her, so she had no right to those gifts.

The courts ultimately ordered Stiviano to return the cars and the duplex.

(FX/Hulu)

Cut Episode 2: Separating Fact from Fiction

Claim: V. Stiviano stole products from stores

TRUE.

While Stiviano was never convicted of shoplifting from a department store while she was with Sterling, she does have a criminal record that includes two incidents of petty theft.

Stiviano has also been arrested for felony theft, possession of a controlled substance and DUI. according to TMZ.

Claim: Chris Paul had to do everything in multiples of 3, JJ Redick needed a baked potato before games

Unclear.

There is nothing to substantiate the “Clipped” claim that Paul had to take sips of water in threes or do other things in multiples of 3.

Redick was an extremely meticulous player with the Clippers. He scheduled his days to the minute. He ate the exact same dinner: roast chicken, baked potatoes, asparagus or broccoli, and a cup of coffee at exactly 4:30 p.m., according to a profile written by Scott Cacciola of the New York Times.

Redick was also eating the same type of granola bar with five minutes left before kickoff and said it “tastes like cardboard right now.”

Claim: Elgin Baylor left Clippers on bad terms

TRUE.

Baylor, a Hall of Fame player, worked for the Clippers for 22 years before being fired. He sued the Clippers in 2009. alleging age discrimination and claiming Sterling was racist.

Baylor lost that case but seemed redeemed after the Sterling tapes came out.

Claim: V. Stiviano leaked Sterling tape to TMZ

The description in “Clipped” of how Stiviano used the recordings is very accurate.

Shelburne details how Stiviano first leaked the tapes to a Clippers employee after she was denied parking and tickets to a game at Shelly’s behest. From there, Andy Roeser informed Shelly, who learned about the tapes for the first time.

Stiviano later leaked the tapes to TMZ, who notified the Clippers and the NBA that they would be releasing them. The Clippers did nothing preemptively to control the damage, Doc Rivers actually thought it was a sex tape initially, and the events played out almost exactly as they were shown in Episode 2.

Claim: V. Stiviano and Donald Sterling’s relationship was not intimate

It is unclear whether Stiviano and Sterling ever had sexual relations, but Sterling admitted to hiring prostitutes. in crude comments during a 2003 deposition..

“It was purely sex for money, money for sex, sex for money, money for sex… I was paying him. It was in exchange for sex. It wasn’t a gift. She wasn’t giving her money without her doing something for me. And if it wasn’t good, she wouldn’t give him anything. It was money in exchange for sex. How can you say it was a gift? If a man has an affair with a prostitute, is that a gift? “It’s not a gift.”

Neither of them have spoken about that aspect of their relationship.