Who’d willingly toil for Clippers owner Donald Sterling without benefit of a signed agreement? According to the LA Times’ Lisa Dillman, none other than GM Elgin Baylor, whose more than two decades with the club came to a messy end earlier this week.

Though many of the details remain unclear, several pieces of information emerged. Sources with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to comment publicly said that Baylor had been working without a contract since the early 1990s, having been told that one was not necessary.

Now it appears Baylor is gearing up for a battle, hiring attorney Carl Douglas and employment law specialist Alvin Pittman.

“Elgin gave 22 years of his life to the Clippers and it’s regrettable they are trying to put him out to pasture in this way,” Douglas said.

Douglas acknowledged that there “is a dispute over the circumstances of his [Baylor’s] separation” with the Clippers. They are trying to get the matter resolved informally. If that doesn’t happen, Douglas said they will “leave our options open.”

Later, at Clippers headquarters, Dunleavy noted that not much had changed. He guessed that negotiations between the Clippers and Baylor had been going on for about a month.