Los Angeles Clippers basketball team owner Donald Sterling is apparently too mentally ill to stop his wife from flogging the team to the shy and retiring former Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.

Apparently Ballmer will write a cheque of $2 billion for the team which is a new record price for an NBA team. Ballmer has a bob or two in the bank after leaving Microsoft and has a net worth of $20 billion, more if you boil him down for chemicals.

Apparently Sterling did not want to sell the team, however The Sterling Family Trust owns it, with Donald and his wife Shelly each owning half. The trust spells out provisions and procedures related to the mental capacity of the trustees, and Donald Sterling did not meet the standard in a determination by experts, giving his wife sole decision-making power for the trust.

Sterling was believed to be a sandwich short of a cut lunch after he was caught insulting African-Americans in a secret audio recording. Under the deal Ballmer gets all of the team, though Shelly Sterling still could be involved in the franchise in some other capacity.

The deal is apparently tentative, as 29 other NBA owners need to offer their approval as well, but that shouldn't be a problem as long as Ballmer keeps the Clippers in Los Angeles instead of taking them to Seattle. Ballmer has promised to keep the team where it is.