LOS ANGELES (AP) — Testimony ended Wednesday in the trial to determine whether Donald Sterling’s estranged wife can sell the Los Angeles Clippers in a proposed $2 billion deal with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Shelly Sterling, who had testified early in the trial, was expected to be the final witness, but her husband’s lawyers decided not to call her back to the stand.

Instead, they called Dr. Jeffrey Cummings to discuss the protocol of examinations such as the ones given to Donald Sterling to determine his mental competency and ability to act as owner.

Most of his testimony drew objections from Shelly Sterling’s attorneys, and the judge said he didn’t see how it would help him reach a decision.

The trial will not be in session for the rest of the week. The two sides are scheduled to return for closing arguments on Monday.

Superior Court Judge Michael Levanas reminded Sterling’s lawyers that both sides had agreed not to make Donald Sterling’s mental capacity an issue in the trial.

Levanas said he was surprised when the lawyers made that move, and that he would have been interested in hearing about Donald Sterling’s mental competency.



Mavericks’ Felton pleads guilty in NYC gun case

NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas Mavericks point guard Raymond Felton pleaded guilty Wednesday in a New York gun case, taking a plea deal that involved admitting a felony but spares him jail.

Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license.

“Are those charges true?” Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Larry Stephen asked.

“Yes, sir,” Felton said, later adding in a soft voice: “I apologize. I realize what I did was wrong.”



LeBron James
begins tour of China

BEIJING (AP) — LeBron James began his tour of China on Monday by exchanging gifts with another former child prodigy.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ star was greeted by pianist Lang Lang at the Wukesong Sports Center in Beijing in front of hundreds of basketball fans.

The two exchanged gifts, with Lang Lang receiving a pair of basketball shoes and James getting an album of Lang Lang’s music and a CD with the FIFA Brazil World Cup music.

The two stars also played the piano together — a “piano dunk” as Lang Lang called it.

“Every time I come here, the game of basketball grows more and more,” James told the crowd. “It’s been great all the way from before I came to 2008 Beijing Olympics and all the way now for me to come back in 2014. The game continues to rise and I think that’s amazing.”

The five-day trip is being sponsored by Nike. James will also be visiting Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and two cities in Taiwan — Kaohsiung and Taipei.



Timberwolves weighing options with Kevin Love

The Minnesota Timberwolves are weighing their options when it comes to trading All-Star Kevin Love, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls both trying to land the versatile forward. But any talks are complicated by an NBA rule that requires a 30-day waiting period to trade any rookie that signs his contract.

Talks have picked up again this week, with the Cavaliers coming off of their long-held resistance to including No. 1 overall draft Andrew Wiggins in an offer and making a trade with Utah on Tuesday to help make an acquisition easier to pull off.

Just as the Cavs appeared to be closing in on grabbing Love to pair with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in a new-look “Big 3” in Cleveland, the Bulls appear to be making one last run to try to wrestle him away from their Eastern Conference competitors.