NBA finds Clippers violated salary cap rules; Ballmer given 1-year ban as team is stripped of 5 first-round draft picks
The NBA handed out severe punishments to the Los Angeles Clippers and superstar Kawhi Leonard on Wednesday for allegedly circumventing the league's salary cap rules, closing a year-long saga and investigation into an off-the-court sponsorship deal.
LA will forfeit five future first-round draft picks from 2029 to 2033. The franchise already does not have draft picks in 2027 and 2028 due to prior trades.
In addition, owner Steve Ballmer will be suspended from all league and team activities for one year, and the franchise was fined $30 million.
Leonard himself must pay the league $700,000. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors earlier this summer, but the transaction was placed on hold as the investigation ensued.
"The NBA's collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers' institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."
In a statement, the Clippers said the franchise rejects the NBA's findings, claiming the investigation was "heavily biased" and justified a "predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence."
"What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standards Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure its fairness and accuracy," the team said. "We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process."
The league said Ballmer knowingly sought to help Leonard "obtain off-court income opportunities" to circumvent the league's salary cap rules.
The penalties were handed out as a result of an endorsement agreement between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC, which filed for bankruptcy last year. The company's co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced in June to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding multiple lenders and investors of at least $248 million.
Leonard, the NBA says, pressured the Clippers to assist him with off-court income opportunities like the Aspiration endorsement. The investigation found he failed to reimburse the team's payments for personal expenses.
While facilitating the endorsement agreements, the Clippers also allegedly offered business from the team toward Aspiration and other companies, including Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance, in exchange.
In a statement, Leonard said he accepts "full responsibility for lapses in judgement" by people in his inner circle.
"For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with," he said. "As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate."
Leonard's uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, was banned from engaging with NBA teams for five years for "pressuring the Clippers" on his nephew's behalf.
Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year without pay. President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months without pay. The league office will engage in a compliance and monitoring program for the Clippers for five years.
According to the NBA, the penalties came after an independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The firm said
The findings come almost one year after sports journalist Pablo Torre reported on Leonard's alleged endorsement on an episode of his podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out." The podcast's staff won a Pulitzer Prize for the reporting.