A lawyer for the man offering to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion told a judge on Friday that Donald Sterling's stalling tactics are threatening to doom the sale by pushing it past a contractual deadline.

At a hearing to set parameters for the rest of a probate trial, attorney Adam Streisand implored the judge to make a swift decision when hearings conclude on July 28.

He said the final deadline for closing the deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was extended by a month, but "the deal ends on August 15".

A month later, the NBA can seize the team and sell it at auction, Streisand said.

Sterling has vowed he will never sell the team and is suing to block his wife's singlehanded deal to do so after the NBA banned him for life for making racist statements.

Streisand said a ruling in favor of Shelly Sterling would set off lengthy appeals that also could stop the sale. Outside court, he said Donald Sterling's refusal to sell the team is "a suicide mission by a madman".

Despite the looming deadlines, Sterling's attorney, Gary Ruttenberg, who weighed in by phone, asked to further delay proceedings, insisting, "This case has been railroaded on a bullet train".

(China Daily 07/20/2014 page12)