Clippers name lawyer John Gibson interim governor

The LA Clippers have named John Gibson, a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer, as the franchise’s interim governor and CEO.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is facing a one-year suspension following the NBA’s investigation into salary cap circumvention allegations involving the team’s former star Kawhi Leonard, nominated Gibson, and the NBA approved him Monday after a vetting process.

Gibson is a longtime Clippers season-ticket holder and, along with being a trial lawyer, was a litigation partner at DLA Piper in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Harvard and the University of Michigan Law School.

“I am honored to take on this responsibility and grateful for the opportunity to serve an organization I have supported for many years,” Gibson said in a statement.

Gibson joins the Clippers nearly three weeks after the NBA handed down its harshest-ever punishment to the team following a nearly yearlong investigation by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Along with Ballmer’s suspension, the NBA issued a $30 million fine, the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks and suspensions for team executives Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker.

Leonard was also fined $700,000.

Ballmer recently accepted the NBA’s punishment, saying in a statement, in part, that though there are still disagreements with the findings, “We are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine and are moving forward.”