Report: Sterling’s lawyer says deal is off

Maxwell Blecher, the lawyer for Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, said Sterling has told him to pursue a $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver, and to withdraw his support for the sale of the Clippers that was negotiated by Sterling’s wife last week, ESPN.com reported Monday.

In an email to ESPN.com, Blecher wrote, “The deal is off.”

Silver told CNN in an interview on Sunday that he was not ready to call Steve Ballmer’s agreement to purchase the team a done deal.

“When it’s done, then we can take a deep breath,” Silver told CNN’s Rachel Nichols.

Silver noted that his association with Sterling has taught him that obstacles may still remain.

“He’s unsold his club several times over the years,” Silver said. “There’s well-noted incidents in the league when he was right there at a closing and at the last minute decided not to sell. And until he signs that document, we still have a pending litigation with him.”