Retired basketball star Yao Ming said "anything is possible" amid speculation that the former Houston Rockets center is putting together a bid for the Los Angeles Clippers with Chinese investors.

Yao, who owns the Shanghai Sharks basketball team in China, is assembling a group to buy the Clippers franchise, sports channel ESPN reported on its website, citing unidentified sources.

The National Basketball Association told owner Donald Sterling last week that it intends to force a sale in the wake of racist comments that got him banned from the league for life.