The NBA punished the Los Angeles Clippers for violating salary cap rules, suspending owner Steve Ballmer for a year, fining the team $30 million and forcing it to give up a first-round draft pick every year from 2029 through 2033 — one of the harshest penalties in league history.
Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000. Team president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was banned six months, and business operations president Gillian Zucker was suspended a year for lying to investigators.
Commissioner Adam Silver said he was “deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations,” adding the punishment “reflects the seriousness of the violations.”
The case stems from a $28 million endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC, which went bankrupt last year. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, was sentenced to 14 years in prison this year after pleading guilty to defrauding investors of at least $248 million.
The NBA said Ballmer knowingly helped Leonard land the deal, which was tied to the company’s endorsement contract.
The Clippers rejected the findings and vowed to fight them through arbitration. Ballmer’s attorney called the investigation a “witch hunt” in a letter released by the team.
Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors remains on hold, though he said he is “closing this chapter” and returning to the team he led to a title in 2019.
Read more:
• NBA suspends Clippers owner, fines team $30M, Leonard $700K in cap circumvention case
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