Sterling doesn’t have to sue. He should go on about his business. It is up to the NBA to sue and get a court to enforce their ban. The NBA does not have a swat team.
Steinbrenner and Schott were also suspended by MLB in the ‘90s and cooperated. I don’t see an 82 year old man trying to hurt the brand anymore and potentially hurt his sale price.
The NBA could easily retaliate by with holding revenue sharing payments to the Clippers if Sterling chose this route.
Owners aren’t stupid when dealing with other owners with exception to Al Davis, who was then of course ostracized by the rest of the NFL owners. Its why Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones didn’t sue the NFL after the 2012 “cap penalties”