The National Basketball Association has handed down penalties to the Los Angeles Clippers after concluding a yearlong probe into salary cap circumvention connected to Kawhi Leonard's 2022 signing, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.
The team must surrender one first-round draft pick each in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 drafts. Owner Steve Ballmer received a one-year suspension from all league and team activities plus a $30 million fine, while business operations president Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for one year and basketball operations president Lawrence Frank for six months.
Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the league's compensation system is essential to fair competition and expressed disappointment over the violations and leadership shortcomings that enabled them. He noted the penalties match the gravity of the misconduct.
Leonard, via his agent Harrison Gaines, accepted responsibility for judgment lapses by members of his inner circle and expressed regret over the distraction to fans and family. He maintained that he entered the contract and related agreements in good faith without knowledge of any cap circumvention intent.
The investigation, carried out by the New York law firm Wachtell Lipton, identified multiple breaches. These included the Clippers arranging off-court income deals for Leonard with four companies that had business ties to the team, covering his personal expenses, and failing to report improper solicitations by his former business manager.
The Clippers organization announced plans to contest the findings through all available channels, including arbitration. The team rejected the conclusions as stemming from a biased process and stated that private communications from the league differed from the public announcement.
This report is based on coverage by ABC7 Los Angeles: https://abc7.com/post/nba-strips-clippers-5-first-round-draft-pics-investigation-fines-steve-ballmer-30-million-kawhi-leonard-700k/19781312/