Clippers Tap John Gibson as Interim CEO While Ballmer Serves Ban

The Clippers finally have someone steering the ship. On Monday the team named lawyer John Gibson as interim governor and CEO while owner Steve Ballmer serves a one-year suspension tied to the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap scandal. Gibson is no stranger to the franchise — he was lead trial counsel for the Clippers and worked the litigation around the 2014 sale from Donald Sterling to Ballmer.

The backdrop here is ugly. The league's investigation concluded Ballmer knowingly tried to help Leonard land off-court income to skirt the salary cap, and it hit him with a $30 million fine on top of the year-long ban. The Clippers also lost five first-round picks — a gut punch for a front office trying to build anything sustainable.

The discipline didn't stop at the top. President of business operations Gillian Zucker got the same one-year suspension, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank drew six months without pay. The NBA framed the Clippers as a repeat offender of cap-circumvention rules, which is why the hammer came down this hard.

As for Leonard, he escaped with a $700,000 fine and no suspension. That mattered a lot for the mechanics of his future, because the Clippers had already agreed to trade him back to Toronto while the probe was ongoing. The deal was briefly frozen, then greenlit once the findings landed and Leonard avoided a ban. Ballmer initially pushed back on the league's conclusions and hinted at a fight, but days later he accepted the ruling and said he wouldn't sue.

The Fantasy Fallout

Here's what actually matters for your roster: Kawhi is a Raptor now, and that changes his outlook more than any front-office reshuffle. Last season (2025-26) he was genuinely elite — 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 65 games, good for 45.9 fantasy points per game. That's our No. 9 overall ranking and No. 4 at his position. The catch is his form was fading late: his last five games came in 8.7 fantasy points below his season average.

So how do you play it? Hold. The talent and the 65-game sample last season say he's a top-10 asset when he's on the floor, and that alone makes him a keep in every format. But a new team, a new role in Toronto, and a cold recent stretch mean you shouldn't be paying a premium to acquire him right now. Sit tight, watch the first few weeks of the season, and let his usage settle before you decide whether to sell high or lean in.