Donald Sterling Rumored To Let Wife Sell His Clippers Franchise

The saga of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling continues. Sources have reported to several media outlets that Sterling will allow his wife, Shelly Sterling, to negotiate the sale of the Clippers.

A key uncertainty that remains is how much of the team Shelly Sterling is interested in selling. She had indicated in the past that she wanted to keep her 50 percent stake in the franchise claiming that, unlike her husband, she has done "nothing wrong."

However, this may put her at odds with the league just like her husband. It has been reported that the NBA will not allow partial sale of the Clippers.

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Allowing his wife to handle sale of his portion is a change from previous updates. When the NBA’s commissioner, Adam Silver, announced that Sterling would have to sell his team, Sterling’s lawyer filed for a three-month extension to put together a response and implied that his client would fight the ruling.

The time extension was quickly denied.

ESPN said that in order for Shelly Sterling to sell the team, she would need controlling interest - a process that would have to be approved by the board of governors.

ESPN also reported that, "according to IRS rules, the Sterlings would have to pay a federal long-term capital-gains tax of 20 percent and a California tax of 13.3 percent. The tax would be on the difference between what the team was bought for and what it is ultimately sold for.

"If the team is sold for $1 billion, the Sterlings would be taxed $328.5 million on the sale."