Donald Sterling's profile as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers had decreased over the past few seasons following the arrival of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Doc Rivers.

"They're the stars of the Clippers show now, not Sterling anymore," one deposed Clippers official told Yahoo Sports. "They moved him aside and he didn't matter anymore.

"But now, this [scandal] has made him relevant again. In his mind, he's the star of the Clippers again. Everybody's talking about him again. In his own way, he'll revel in this. I would bet there's no way [Sterling] will give in and sell his team. There's no way that he's going to do anything but stay and fight everyone until the very end to hold onto this."

Several league officials have said they believe Adam Silver has been studying a provision in the NBA's bylaws that would allow him to summon a vote of league owners to strip Sterling of his ownership.

The NBA would run the Clippers until the team could be sold.

Minimally, Silver could implement a one-year suspension, a $1 million fine and an assignment to counseling.

David Stern had let Sterling slide for years on other issues and there's a fear he feared the Clippers' owner in the courts.