NBA sanctions Clippers, owner and Kawhi Leonard for salary-cap violations
The league imposed a $30 million fine, loss of five first-round picks and suspensions on Clippers executives, while owner Steve Ballmer received a one-year ban and Leonard was fined $700 000 after a year-long investigation.
The National Basketball Association announced Wednesday that the Los Angeles Clippers and several of its officials have been penalised for breaching salary-cap circumvention rules. The franchise will forfeit its first-round draft selections for 2029 through 2033 and pay a $30 million fine. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was suspended from all league and team activities for one year, and the team’s president of business operations, Gillian Zucker, received a one-year unpaid suspension. Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, was suspended without pay for six months.
Kawhi Leonard was ordered to pay a $700 000 fine but will not face a suspension or contract voiding. The NBA also barred Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, from conducting business with NBA teams for five years. The penalties were confirmed in an agreement with the NBA Players Association and described by Commissioner Adam Silver as reflecting the seriousness of the violations.
The investigation, launched after a podcast alleged the Clippers facilitated off-court endorsement deals for Leonard with companies including Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance, found that the team arranged income opportunities, covered personal expenses and failed to disclose the arrangements. Leonard’s involvement was linked to actions taken by his former business manager, Robertson.
The Clippers issued a statement rejecting the findings, calling the investigation “heavily biased” and saying they will challenge the penalties. Leonard, speaking through his new agent, accepted responsibility for lapses in judgment by his inner circle and asserted he had no knowledge of any intent to evade the salary cap.
The case follows earlier legal issues involving Aspiration, whose co-founder was sentenced for fraud, and prior allegations that Leonard’s representatives had sought improper benefits from other teams. The Clippers finished the season with a 42-40 record and were eliminated in the play-in tournament.