The NBA fined the Los Angeles Clippers $30 million and stripped the franchise of five first-round picks after determining the Clippers violated salary-cap circumvention rules via endorsement deals for Kawhi Leonard, the league announced Wednesday.
Los Angeles is losing its first-rounders in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033.
Owner Steve Ballmer faces a one-year suspension from all league and team activities. Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is suspended six months without pay.
Leonard has been ordered to pay the league $700,000 but otherwise escaped league discipline. His uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, is prohibited from contacting NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of players, employees, or any league or team personnel for five years.
The Clippers were under investigation for circumventing salary-cap restrictions by using a third-party endorsement deal with the now-defunct green banking company Aspiration to pay Leonard outside his contract.
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