About the LA area: it depends on the terms of the sale. But they won’t go to Seattle.
As far as his capacity goes: I thought the finding was enough to strip him of control of the family trust.
Didn’t Clay Bennett say that, too?
I’m being a little facetious. My recollection of the Sonics sale to Bennett was that there was always kind of a wink and a nudge about his commitment to Seattle, but Ballmer (and one analysis I read) doesn’t seem to have that. His ties to the northwest aren’t as strong as Gates’s or Allen’s, and there seems to be a much stronger financial case to keeping the Clippers where they are. I just don’t know if you can take anything out of their mouths at face value at a time like this.
Bennett said he wouldn’t move the Sonics. Ballmer apparently signed a deal saying he won’t move the Clippers. Assuming that’s true, it makes all the difference in the world.
No; read the article I linked to. It’s brief, but basically what it points out is that Shelly Sterling, through her lawyers, has told the press that Donald Sterlig has been found incapable. Thus far there’s been no actual court ruling on any such thing, and as Mr. Sterling’s lawyer contends, the notion that Mr. Sterling is incapable is grossly incorrect.
[More and better info now:
](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKN_CLIPPERS_STERLING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-05-31-03-08-42)
So this is going to court, big time. Looks like Shelly and her side did a lot of legal maneuvering so they could get to legal posturing but frankly I doubt it’ll hold it up in court and I think the court will hold up any sale until the lawsuit(s) is (are) settled.
No deal has yet been truly made, and so no promise can be accepted at face value.
Ballmer’s ties to Seattle may not be as strong as others’, but he has ties there, a market that would love him for moving the Clippers there, and he was involved in failed attempts to keep the Sonics in Seattle and then later to move the Kings there. I would not rule it out.
Is a court ruling necessary? I thought that would be determined by the rules of the trust.
…which are going to be challenged in court, along with the procedures the doctors used, the criteria in their evaluations, who hired them, etc.
I hope Mr. Ballmer hasn’t started picking out office furniture yet; this could take a long time to be resolved.
The NBA commissioner was planning to force a sale of the team, through a majority vote of the NBA owners. (I assume there is a clause in the franchise agreement for involuntary sale.) I think he shut this down once Donald Sterling apparently agreed to let his wife sell the team. So if he challenges this voluntary sale, the team could be sold without his permission. Obviously if the sale is voluntary, it’s not going to be challenged in court.
Sterling has agreed to sell the team and drop his lawsuit against the NBA:
I just got home and saw this on the AP front page; now it’s a done deal.
So the old guy had dementia this whole time? Could that explain his racist comments at all? Should I start feeling a little sorry for him?
You could if that stuff is true, yes. I think we’d all be wise to take it with a grain of salt because I think most of the wrangling by both Sterlings has been part of a coordinated business strategy. Maybe it’s not; who knows. Anyway dementia might explain his racist phone comments, but it doesn’t excuse the housing discrimination.
He’s always been an asswipe. Now he’s a *demented *asswipe. No inconsistency.
I called it a done deal days ago because my understanding was that he didn’t have a leg to stand on legally. But whatever the case, at least he’s gone.
Nope, you were wrong then and now [we’re both wrong.
In effect he is suing himself, which seems like the equivalent of lighting your own money on fire. The deal is ultimately going to go through regardless.
Latest AP story: Judge rejects Shelly Sterling bid for injunction.
There’s actually a lot more news in the article than the headline can convey. It sounds like both sides are going at it in every conceivable vaguely legal maneuver they can think of. Very entertaining to watch this unfold; I predict an amazing film about it will appear in a few years.
Shockingly, Steve Ballmer’s Gmail account was hacked. 
[Sterling took the stand today.
](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BKN_CLIPPERS_STERLING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-07-08-23-36-20)
I can’t wait to see how this turns out.