There were reports on Thursday that the Sterlings had sold the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Just as quickly as those reports came out there were reports contradicting those claiming that no deal had been done.
Los Angeles Times reporter Andrea Chang, whose agency was responsible for the initial report that the Clippers had been sold, made it to Sterling’s house first and was able to speak with Sterling’s lawyer and he confirmed the latter of the reports on the sale of the team, that there has been no sale.
Sterling's lawyer repeatedly said, "There's been no sale. There's been no sale. There can be no sale without Donald's signature."
— Andrea Chang (@byandreachang) May 30, 2014
Sterling's lawyer just told me, in Sterling's driveway, "My belief is he will not sell this team."
— Andrea Chang (@byandreachang) May 29, 2014
Sterling’s lawyer also got pretty cocky about his client’s wealth, saying that the Sterlings aren’t motivated by money to sell the team.
Sterling's lawyer told me that Sterling already has "a couple billion dollars," so "he could not care less" about Ballmer's $2-billion bid.
— Andrea Chang (@byandreachang) May 30, 2014
Sterling's lawyer then said that even if the bid had been $10 billion, "it wouldn't change his life in any way." Must be nice.
— Andrea Chang (@byandreachang) May 30, 2014
Atty: He doesn't need the $. He's not looking at it from that standpoint. He's looking at it from the standpoint of he doesn't want to sell.
— Andrea Chang (@byandreachang) May 30, 2014
It looks like a very fluid situation so stay tuned to FanSided as news continues to break in this case. One thing that appears certain is that the group led by David Geffen, which included Oprah Winfrey and Larry Ellison, has pulled out of the bidding.
[UPDATE:]
There is now a signed, binding agreement between Ballmer and the Sterling family trust to sell the Clippers for $2billion, ESPN has learned
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) May 30, 2014