NBA levies astonishing penalty against Clippers over cap circumvention involving Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard
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The NBA stripped five first-round draft picks from the Los Angeles Clippers, fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million and suspended key executives after a yearlong investigation found that the team circumvented salary-cap rules in connection with Kawhi Leonard.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Clippers will forfeit their first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, which absolutely guts their draft capital for the next decade.
It’s a punishment so severe that the NBA has rarely, if ever, dropped the hammer this hard.
The NBA cited “a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations,” determining that team officials systematically coordinated off-the-books arrangements rather than making an isolated error.
BIG PICTURE DETAILS
- The Clippers lost five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033.
- Steve Ballmer was fined $30 million and suspended for one year.
- Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank also received unpaid suspensions.
- Kawhi Leonard must pay $700,000 but avoided a game suspension.
- The NBA placed the Clippers under league monitoring for five years.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, looks toward the scoreboard during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Inglewood, California, on May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, file)
The closest precedent came in 2000, when the NBA voided Minnesota’s contracts with Joe Smith, stripped the Timberwolves of five first-round picks and fined the team $3.5 million over a secret agreement involving the forward.
The Clippers now face an even broader punishment, including multiple executive suspensions and five years of league monitoring.
Ballmer is suspended for one year from all league and team activities. Investigators determined that the billionaire owner knowingly helped Leonard pursue off-court income opportunities, approved an arrangement tied to Leonard’s Aspiration endorsement deal and failed to ensure the Clippers complied with salary-cap rules.
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President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker received a one-year unpaid suspension after investigators deemed her primarily responsible for the improper deals and accused her of providing false and misleading statements during the probe.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sits courtside before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Intuit Dome on April 5, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month unpaid suspension for his involvement in the arrangements and for approving improper expenses incurred by Leonard and his family.
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Leonard avoided a game suspension and a voided contract but must pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits funneled to his former representative, Dennis Robertson. Robertson was permanently barred from conducting business with the NBA. Leonard cut ties with him in June.
In a statement issued through agent Harrison Gaines, Leonard denied wrongdoing while accepting responsibility for “lapses in judgment” by his inner circle.
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am,” Leonard said. “I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.”
LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets during game seven of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on May 3, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
Leonard said he entered into his contract with the Clippers and the agreements in question “in good faith,” with “no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.”
As he prepares to return to Toronto, he said he is focused on “closing this chapter and moving forward with a clean slate.”
The Clippers mortgaged their entire future for a single championship window, and now they’ll spend the next decade paying off the debt.
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