Key Takeaways
- The NBA fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped five draft picks, and suspended officials over salary-cap violations tied to Kawhi Leonard.
- The Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer sharply condemned the penalties, calling the investigation biased and promising to fight the findings.
- Kawhi Leonard acknowledged lapses in his inner circle but denied knowledge of deliberate rule-breaking as the saga continues to spark league debate.
The Los Angeles Clippers are pushing back after the NBA concluded that the franchise violated salary-cap rules involving Kawhi Leonard and handed down one of the league’s most sweeping sets of penalties.
On Wednesday (Sept. 2), the league announced that Los Angeles will forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each year from 2029 through 2033, and pay a $30 million fine following an independent investigation by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended from league and team activities for one year, while Leonard was ordered to pay the league $700,000.
Additionally, the league suspended Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker for one year and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank for six months. Leonard’s former business manager Dennis Robertson was barred from conducting business with NBA teams for five years, and the Clippers will be subject to league monitoring for the same period.
The Clippers quickly disputed the ruling. In a statement shared by CBS Sports, the organization said it “vehemently" rejects the findings and characterized the probe as “heavily biased.” The team alleged that what league officials communicated privately differed from the final public findings and said it plans to challenge the penalties through every available avenue, including arbitration.
Ballmer’s attorney, David Kelley, separately attacked the investigation in a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, describing it as a “witch hunt” and the resulting punishment as a “gross injustice.” Per the Associated Press, Kelley argued that investigators failed to provide the due process and fairness Silver had promised when the probe began.
Leonard, meanwhile, said he accepted responsibility for “lapses in judgment” by members of his inner circle but denied knowing of an effort to evade league rules. He said he entered his Clippers contract and the endorsement agreements in good faith and had “no knowledge” of any intent to circumvent the salary cap.
What the NBA says the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard did
According to the league, investigators found a “pattern of misconduct” involving four companies that did business with the Clippers: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance. The NBA said the team initiated and facilitated off-court income opportunities for Leonard, induced companies to enter endorsement agreements by offering team business, and paid personal expenses for him and his representatives.
Silver said he was “deeply disappointed” by what he called the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures. The NBA also announced that it reached an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association confirming that the penalties are “final and binding,” although investigators continue to receive information and the league said further action remains possible.