Shelly Sterling receives bids for Clippers

Shelly Sterling and her advisers are reviewing initial bids from five groups interested in the Los Angeles Clippers, according to reports.

The bids are in the $1 billion to $1.2 billion range, ESPN.com reported Wednesday.

Donald Sterling has given authority to his wife to sell the team after the NBA banned him for life and fined him $2.5 million for his racially insensitive comments.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in New York where the other 29 team owners will vote on whether to force a sale of the team after hearing from Sterling. A forced sale would require three-quarters approval from the owners.

According to reports, Shelly Sterling and the advisers will try to expedite the process to determine the top bid by Monday. Bidders were asked to submit letters of interest by Wednesday. Another round of bidding could come this weekend.

One interested group includes music mogul David Geffen, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Oprah Winfrey as well as Guggenheim executives Todd Boehly and Mark Walter, Steve Jobs widow Laurene Jobs, Steve Wynn’s ex-wife Elaine Wynn and Beats By Dre co-founder Jimmy Iovine, ESPN reported.

Another group is NBA All-Star Grant Hill and billionaire investors Tony Ressler and Bruce Karsh, ESPN said. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is also reported to be a bidder.

But Donald Sterling has vowed not to go down without a fight.

“Mr. Sterling is an owner of the team, and there will be no sale of the team without his involvement,” said Sterling’s attorney, Bobby Samini.

Sterling said Tuesday that there was no grounds for taking the team from him and that his racially insensitive statements came during a lover’s quarrel.

The NBA’s finance advisory/finance committee met Wednesday by conference call to discuss the responses from both Donald and Shelly Sterling.