On May 29, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer signed a bidding agreement to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion from banned-owner Donald Sterling.

The NBA approved the sale, which was negotiated by Shelly Sterling, the co-owner with her separated husband, on May 30, pending approval by the NBA Board of Governors.

“I will be honored to have my name submitted to the NBA Board of Governors for approval as the next owner of the Los Angeles Clippers,” Ballmer said in a statement. “I thank Shelly Sterling for her willingness to entrust the Clippers franchise to me, and I am grateful to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and his colleagues for working collaboratively with me throughout this process.”

According to a statement released from the league, the bid was approved with the conditions that “Mrs. Sterling, the Trust, would agree not to sue the NBA and to indemnify the NBA against lawsuits from others, including Donald Sterling.”

Donald Sterling, who bought the Clippers in 1981 for $12.5 million, was banned and fined by NBA commissioner Silver in April after alleged audio of Donald Sterling making racist remarks were leaked by his girlfriend, V. Stiviano.

With the sale of the Clippers to Ballmer, many Sonics fans hoped it would mean the relocation of the Clippers to Seattle, but Ballmer told the Wall Street Journal a few days before the sale that a move would not happen.

“If I get interested in the Clippers, it would be for Los Angeles. I don’t work anymore, so I have more geographic flexibility than I did a year, year and a half ago. Moving them anywhere else would be value destructive,” said Ballmer.

However, Clay Bennett, who bought the Sonics from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz back in 2006, bought the team with the “intent” to keep them in Seattle then relocated them to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 2008.

Now the question is: how much does this hurt hedge fund manager Chris Hansen’s bid on returning a professional team to Seattle? Hansen and Ballmer, who partnered up in early 2013, were denied the sale of the Sacramento Kings after the NBA voted against the relocation of the Kings to Seattle.

Hansen released a statement congratulating Ballmer on his successful bid but reassuring the Emerald City that he and his remaining partners are still committed to bringing a team to Seattle.

“I would also like to assure Seattle fans that my remaining partners and I remain committed to bringing the NBA back to Seattle,” Hansen said. “The environmental review process for the Seattle Arena is nearing completion and we will soon be in a strong position to attract a franchise back to the Emerald City.”

Now that Ballmer will be a part of the NBA Board of Governors with his purchase, it will benefit Hansen’s quest to return a team to Seattle.