Donald Sterling and his estranged wife Shelly are still partaking in court proceedings to decide who has the legal right to sell the team. Closing arguments are set for July 28 and even after a decision, appeals could follow. The process could take quite some time including finalizing a sale once the proceedings are over.
Shelly negotiated a deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to purchase the Clippers for $2.5 billion. She contends that she has the legal right to sell the team because Donald was diagnosed as mentally incompetent by a doctor. Donald says the doctor’s reports are false and he’s perfectly capable of running and selling the team himself. The time it takes to set everything straight could mean Donald and Shelly might still be the owners of the Clippers by the time the 2014-15 season begins.
Adam Silver: “No, I cannot say with certainty” that Sterlings will be out by beginning of next season because of legal proceedings.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 16, 2014
Sterling still owning the team would present a problem for players who are against playing for him. National Basketball Players Association vice president Roger Mason Jr. said LeBron James would boycott if Sterling still owned the Clippers when the 2014-15 season began, but Mason later backtracked from that assertion. The league cancelled it’s scheduled vote to remove Donald because they believed everything was settled with the deal Shelly negotiated. They can reschedule the vote but the timeline could still roll over into the season.
– Shaina Auxilly (@Shay_Marie)
