Clippers president Andy Roeser will take an indefinite leave of absence from the team, effective at once, the NBA announced. Roeser had been in charge of the Clippers since the league banned owner Donald Sterling for life. The move will allow a league-appointed CEO, which the NBA announced plans for over the weekend, to begin with a “clean slate,” according to Mike Bass, the league’s executive vice president of communications.
Roeser has been with the team for the last 30 years, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times points out (on Twitter), and that spans much of Sterling’s ownership of the club. The CEO will have the authority to decide whether Roeser remains with the team.
The departure of former GM Neil Olshey two years ago placed Roeser, along with Gary Sacks and then-coach Vinny Del Negro, in charge of the team’s basketball decisions. Sacks assumed most of the day-to-day business, but Roeser seemed to actively take part prior to the arrival of Doc Rivers, who has authority over basketball personnel matters in addition to his duties as coach.