LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers officially kicked off their season on Monday with Media Day at Intuit Dome. It was the first step in what will be a long journey back after the NBA handed down one of the harshest punishments in sports for their role in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention scandal.

In addition to the loss of five future first round draft picks, the NBA's punishment included a one year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer and a six month suspension for President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank.

That means general manager Trent Redden has been promoted to interim President and Mark Hughes is promoted to interim general manager.

Before Media Day officially kicked off with player interviews, Redden and Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue met with members of the media and provided a lengthy opening statement with regards to the NBA's investigation.

“Obviously, this took a little longer than we had hoped. You guys deserved to hear from us before this. Our fans deserved to hear from us before this. And for that, we're sorry. We've been listening, though, not just being quiet, but listening to the thoughts, the concerns, and feeling the emotions of our fan base. They mean everything to us. Their pain through this time is real. And we feel it and we hear them, as well as our staff members who are proud to be part of this organization. We hope to fulfill our promises to them to build their trust and move forward through this time.

“The penalties we are facing are significant and we will comply with it. It will go hand in hand with our mandate to our fans, to work to build their confidence as we go through the NBA's mandates and penalties this season. Personally, Ty and I are going to miss [Lawrence Frank] and Steve [Ballmer] immensely. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for them. And they have led us through a lot of different times. It will be a challenge without them, but what they prepared us for, although this unique circumstance is new. But the opportunities they've given us, the knowledge they've taught us will lead us, and they put together a staff that can offer us behind us and help fulfill all the things that we want to this season.

“In addition, Ty and I have both been able to meet with John Gibson, our interim governor, who is a leader and a steward for us during this difficult time, not just to us in basketball operations, but also on the business side. These challenges are large, not just the penalties, but some of the injuries that we've already faced as well. This franchise often has done its best work with his back against the wall. Training camp starts tomorrow. And we've got a deep group of players that have shown competitive spirit time and again, in a coaching staff led by Ty, who we thinks the best in the NBA. We hope to represent our fans the same way we always had in dark times by coming out and fighting.”

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The statement is primarily directed towards the fans, who have been mostly neglected throughout this entire summer after the NBA came out and handed the Clippers their punishment for circumventing the salary cap with Kawhi Leonard.

Coach Tyronn Lue also added his statement on the morale of the LA Clippers franchise

“It's been difficult,” Lue said. “Losing Steve and L. for this time, but I give our players a lot of credit. Since Day 1, we said we wanted everyone back the day after Labor Day, and we've had guys in the gym for two months now. Just working and trying to get better. I give our players a lot of credit for being here every single day. Everybody showed up. The leadership is great, the morale is great, even in these tough situations. That's good to see when you have your players coming in and giving everything that they have. A lot of teams don't have that.”

The LA Clippers have traveled to Hawaii for training camp, where they'll be until they take on the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, October 4th.