NBA sanctions Clippers and Kawhi Leonard over alleged salary-cap violations
The league fined Kawhi Leonard $700,000 and imposed a $30 million penalty on the Los Angeles Clippers, along with draft-pick forfeitures and suspensions for team executives, after a year-long investigation found cap-circumvention violations.
The National Basketball Association announced Wednesday that it has fined Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard $700,000 and imposed a $30 million penalty on the franchise for violations of salary-cap rules. The sanctions also include the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks and suspensions for several Clippers executives, including owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker, who each received a one-year ban from league activities, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months.
The penalties follow a nearly year-long investigation by law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, which concluded that the Clippers had agreed to contracts and additional perks for Leonard that exceeded the league’s salary-cap limits. The league said the arrangements involved “improper perks” and “audacious levels of salary-cap circumvention.”
In a statement, Leonard accepted the personal fine and attributed the issue to “lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle.” He added that he is focused on “closing this chapter” as he prepares for a pending trade back to Toronto.
The Clippers issued a response rejecting the findings, describing the investigation as “heavily biased” and asserting that the conclusions were “predetermined.”
The NBA’s disciplinary actions represent the most severe penalties imposed on a franchise and its personnel for cap-related violations in recent history.