Following the NBA’s official announcement of penalties against the Clippers for circumventing salary cap regulations concerning star forward Kawhi Leonard, a pressing question emerged throughout the league: Who will assume control of the team’s basketball operations?
Franchise owner and chairman Steve Ballmer cannot fill this role, having been suspended from league and team activities for a year due to his involvement in the scandal.
Nor can Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations who has managed the franchise’s basketball operations for nearly a decade, as he was suspended for six months.
This week, however, brought much-needed clarity.
The Clippers and Raptors finally executed the highly anticipated trade, sending Leonard back to Toronto after he departed the Raptors for the Clippers in free agency nearly seven years prior.
In exchange for Leonard, the Clippers will receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round draft picks (2031 and 2033), one first-round draft pick swap (2027), and two second-round picks.
While the trade details were finalized in late June, the deal was placed on hold on July 9 amid the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers-Leonard scandal. The Raptors opted to wait until the league’s investigation concluded, as they would have assumed the risk of any potential outcomes affecting Leonard.
However, the Clippers required strong leadership to finalize the agreement and navigate the process to completion.
That new leadership has emerged in the form of general manager Trent Redden, a longtime Clippers executive who is now stepping to the forefront of the franchise’s front office.
Despite the punishments, the Clippers have not yet officially named Redden—or anyone else—as the interim leader of basketball operations.
Nevertheless, Redden, who spearheaded the Clippers’ communications with the Raptors as first reported by NBA reporter Jake Fischer, appears poised to assume that role for the foreseeable future.
Redden’s path to this opportunity began well before the Clippers’ sanctions elevated him to the forefront of the franchise’s basketball operations.
A Sacramento native who graduated from Sheldon High School, Redden played for the SMU Mustangs men’s basketball team during the 2003-04 season and graduated magna cum laude from SMU in 2006.
He began his NBA front-office career as an intern with the Cavaliers, eventually becoming a basketball operations manager and scout for the franchise in 2007.
Redden steadily ascended the organizational hierarchy, earning promotions to director of college player personnel, assistant general manager, and ultimately vice president of basketball operations.
He joined the Clippers as an assistant general manager ahead of the 2018–2019 season and was promoted to general manager in 2023, where he oversaw scouting, strategy, team operations, and building operations.
Mark Hughes, the Clippers senior vice president/assistant general manager, was promoted to his current position concurrently with Redden.
Hughes also advances further within the organizational hierarchy in light of the Clippers’ sanctions.
“For the past six years, Trent and Mark have been trusted evaluators, dependable leaders, and close confidantes of mine,” Frank stated in a June 2023 announcement. “While many executives possess backgrounds in strategy or evaluation, Trent brings expertise and agility in both domains. Since joining us, Trent has scoured the globe for amateur and professional talent while serving as an integral advisor on every major decision and acquisition. He is a respected leader with strong league-wide relationships, and we are excited to see him in his new role.”
After three years in his current role and nearly two decades as an NBA executive, Redden is now ready to assume even greater responsibilities.
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