In this photo takenon April 29, 2014 photo, Sacramento, Calif., Mayor Kevin Johnson, at podium, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to his left, speaks about the penalties imposed on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling by the NBA during a news conferences at Los Angeles City Hall. From left are current and former NBA players A.C. Green, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Roger Mason Jr., Steve Nash, Norm Nixon, Tyson Chandler (tall, bearded) and Luke Walton, far right. Last year Johnson almost single-handedly kept the Kings NBA franchise in Sacramento, staging a late-game comeback to snatch the team away from a Seattle billionaire. This spring he began raising his national political profile by taking over as the head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, then acting as spokesman for the NBA players as the controversy over racist remarks by the Clippers' owner threatened to throw the basketball league into turmoil. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)