The NBA has imposed its most severe penalties to date on the Los Angeles Clippers and their owner, Steve Ballmer, following a year-long investigation that found the franchise circumvented salary cap regulations to benefit star player Kawhi Leonard.
Ballmer has been suspended for one year for knowingly attempting to assist Leonard in securing off-court business opportunities.
Add TNM on GoogleThe league stated Ballmer approved a business deal between the Clippers and Aspiration, which investigators found was connected to Leonard’s sponsorship agreement with the company.
The Clippers issued a statement rejecting the investigation’s findings, which was funded by Ballmer, and announced plans to challenge the penalties.
Instead, the league is pursuing a new theory that the Clippers introduced Leonard to team business partners.
The NBA has imposed its most severe penalties to date on the Los Angeles Clippers and their owner, Steve Ballmer, following a year-long investigation that found the franchise circumvented salary cap regulations to benefit star player Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers will forfeit five first-round draft picks from 2029 to 2033 and have been fined $30 million. Ballmer has been suspended for one year for knowingly attempting to assist Leonard in securing off-court business opportunities.
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The league stated Ballmer approved a business deal between the Clippers and Aspiration, which investigators found was connected to Leonard’s sponsorship agreement with the company. NBA officials concluded that the Clippers attempted to bypass league rules by claiming it was permissible to link players with business partners when requested by the player or their representatives; this argument was rejected.
The Clippers issued a statement rejecting the investigation’s findings, which was funded by Ballmer, and announced plans to challenge the penalties. However, a source familiar with NBA regulations indicated the team has no right to appeal or seek arbitration against the sanctions.
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“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the statement said, as quoted by The New York Times. “For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith, and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence.”
In a two-page letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, David N. Kelly, an attorney from O’Melveny & Myers representing the Clippers, characterised the investigation as a “witch hunt.” Kelly stated that NBA officials had privately informed team executives the investigators found no agreement involving Aspiration to funnel money to Leonard. Instead, the league is pursuing a new theory that the Clippers introduced Leonard to team business partners.
“This process was designed to substantiate a predetermined outcome,” Kelly wrote. “We are exploring every legal remedy to address this gross injustice,” the letter concluded.
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The announcement concludes a lengthy investigation that began by examining whether the Clippers had breached the NBA’s salary cap rules through Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration. The scope of the probe expanded as it progressed.
