Report: Sterling to sue if forced to sell team

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling plans to sue the NBA if the owners vote to force him to sell the team, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

An NBA executive told the Daily News, “He is not going to sell the team.”

The NBA banned Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million earlier this week for making racist comments caught on an audio recording.

If Sterling sues to hold on to the team, it is believed that a legal battle could take several years to settle.

The NBA took its first step in trying to remove Sterling on Thursday when its advisory/finance committee met to discuss the issue.

The committee, which includes Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss, plans to meet again next week.

The approval of three-fourths (or 23) of the NBA’s owners are needed to force Sterling to sell the team. One of the owners’ board of governors told Yahoo Sports that “(Commissioner) Adam (Silver) has the votes — all of them, I believe.”

Silver has said he is confident he has enough required votes.