In the early afternoon hours of July 3, owner Donald Sterling called Los Angeles Clippers president Andy Roeser and informed him he had rescinded approval on moving Eric Bledsoe and acquiring free agent J.J. Redick in a sign-and-trade agreement. The three-team deal – delivered the owner's blessing only two days earlier – no longer interested Sterling.

Call it off, Sterling instructed Roeser, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Deal's dead.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Basketball: Create or join a league in seconds]

It didn't matter the news had broken 24 hours earlier of the Clippers sending Bledsoe and Caron Butler to the Phoenix Suns with the Suns' Jared Dudley and Milwaukee's Redick, on a four-year, $27 million contract, joining Los Angeles. It didn't matter the public had been praising Doc Rivers' first deal as the new senior vice president of basketball operations and coach, that Rivers and general manager Gary Sacks had given their word to teams, agents and players that this was a finalized agreement.

View photos

Soon, Roeser hurriedly delivered Sterling's declaration to Rivers, his ultimate "welcome-to-the-Clippers" moment.

This had been the kind of dysfunction that frightened prospective executives and coaches of Sterling, an eccentric, often illogical man long used to undermining and bullying staff that he had often kept on short, low-money contracts.

From there, over the Fourth of July holiday, a most unholy hell threatened to unleash should Sterling have been unrelenting in his reversal, sources described to Yahoo Sports. That bizarre turn of events had stayed within a tight circle of league executives, coaches and agents at the start of free agency in July.

After Sterling vaporized the deal on July 3, leaving chaos in his wake, the owner bolted for a beachfront holiday weekend in parts unknown. From the Suns' and Bucks' front offices to Redick's agent, Arn Tellem, to the credibility of the Clippers franchise itself, those involved understood that perhaps only Rivers had the freshly minted cachet and power of persuasion to undo this looming disaster with Sterling.

With a different clout, a different leverage, Rivers had come to the Clippers with uncommon stature. He cost Sterling a three-year, $21 million contract and a first-round compensatory draft pick that went to the Boston Celtics. Free agent Chris Paul guaranteed to ownership that the hiring of Rivers would result with his signing of a five-year extension to stay with the Clippers.

After GM Neil Olshey reshaped the franchise into a credible and contending entity before he left for the Portland Trail Blazers, Rivers had marched into Los Angeles as the front-office czar and championship coach to bring the Clippers the final distance to a title.

[Photos: Chris Paul, Man Crush Monday]

The NBA's moratorium on free-agent signings had a week left until its end, meaning that no deal could be signed until July 11. Rivers had time to change Sterling's mind, but Redick and his representatives couldn't wait long. No one stood to lose more than Redick, one of the best players available on the market, a shooter perfect for the way that Rivers wanted to spread the floor.

Once a deal had been agreed upon and passed Sterling's initial approval, Redick had turned down comparable offers, including one from Minnesota, to join the Clippers. With Redick off the market, the Timberwolves reached agreement on a four-year, $27 million deal with Oklahoma City Thunder free agent Kevin Martin.

Story continues