Clippers Shuffle Front Office as Suspensions Begin

New Leadership in LA

The LA Clippers have officially shifted their front office leadership. General manager Trent Redden is taking over as the team's interim president of basketball operations.

This move comes while Lawrence Frank serves a six month suspension. The suspension is the direct result of an NBA investigation into salary cap circumvention.

Interim team governor and CEO John Gibson announced the changes in a video message sent directly to fans. Gibson is currently running the organization because owner Steve Ballmer is serving his own one year suspension. Gibson also announced that assistant general manager Mark Hughes will step up to handle the general manager duties in the meantime.

The Path to the Front Office

Redden has a long history in basketball front offices. He first joined the Clippers organization in 2017 after spending many years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He worked his way up the ranks in Los Angeles, earning a promotion from assistant general manager to the general manager role in 2023.

Hughes also has deep roots with the franchise. Like Redden, he arrived in Los Angeles in 2017. Before joining the front office, Hughes played professional basketball and spent several years working as an assistant coach in the NBA.

The Cost of the Investigation

The front office shakeup follows a yearlong investigation into the team. The probe was conducted by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz.

The league handed down massive penalties after the investigation concluded. Along with the suspensions for Ballmer and Frank, the NBA fined the franchise 30 million dollars. The league also forced the team to forfeit five future first round draft picks.

Ballmer recently accepted the league's decision. He released a statement noting that while the team still has disagreements with the findings, they are accepting the consequences.

"We are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine and are moving forward," Ballmer said.