Donald Sterling sounds out of touch, disinterested at trial

Clippers owner Donald Sterling did not sound like a cold hearted, penny pinching, racist on the witness stand of a trail Tuesday.

He sounded clueless and disinterested, however.

Elgin Baylor — Lakers legend and Clipper employee for more than two decades — is suing Sterling for age discrimination for Baylor’s firing as team general manager last year. Sterling was on the stand Tuesday and among the “highlights” courtesy the Los Angeles Times are:

• “I don’t profess to know anything about basketball. I’m a professional lawyer.”

• Sterling said he had no idea who Elgin Baylor was when he hired him, didn’t know he was a player included in the NBA’s 50 greatest of All-Time.

“No,” Sterling answered. "... I didn’t know that. I hired him for $3,000 a month. I didn’t really know what his role was.... He was working in a mail-order company back then.”

• Sterling continually sounded like someone disassociated from what was going on within the Clipper organization.

As for what he recalls about Baylor taking over basketball matters, the owner said, "[Baylor] … ultimately made $500,000 a year. Somewhere in between, he assumed that role.”

• “Elgin Baylor wouldn’t tell me the players he was drafting. He was afraid I’d tell another owner,” Sterling testified.