NBA punishes Clippers after Kawhi investigation: Top questions
The NBA has announced punishments against the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard following a nearly yearlong investigation that found "multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization" related to salary cap circumvention when the team signed Leonard to an extension in 2021.
The punishments include a $30 million fine, a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer, a one-year suspension without pay for team president of business operations Gillian Zucker, and a six-month suspension without pay for president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. The Clippers must also forfeit first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.
The case centered on how Leonard and four companies arrived at endorsement deals, with investigators rejecting the Clippers' argument that the team merely acted as a permitted middleman connecting interested companies to Leonard.
A Wachtell report alleges Ballmer generally failed to "create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA's circumvention rules" and that he "knowingly sought to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities," including at least one significant act of team facilitation, though the report cites no specific evidence directly implicating Ballmer.
The punishment was compounded by the Clippers being repeat offenders under Ballmer's ownership, having been fined $250,000 over a similar accusation involving DeAndre Jordan in 2015, and having been cleared but warned following a 2019 investigation into Leonard's signing.