The NBA on Wednesday announced severe punishments for the LA Clippers -- including the loss of five future first-round draft picks, a fine of $30 million and a yearlong suspension of owner Steve Ballmer -- for violating salary cap circumvention rules in a case involving star Kawhi Leonard.
In a statement, the NBA said a near-yearlong investigation "found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules."
As a result, the Clippers must forfeit first-round draft picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033. In addition to the $30 million fine, Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year "for "knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities," among other issues. President of business operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year. And president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months.
What They Found
New York law firm Wachtell Lipton led the investigation into the Clippers. It released a summary report on Wednesday into what it found. That report can be found here.
In addition, Leonard must pay the league $700,000.
All penalties are binding, the league and the players' union said.
"The NBA's collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers' institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."
The Clippers, meanwhile, contested the league's findings and said they will challenge them "through every avenue available to us."
"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 team said in a statement. "What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure [its] fairness and accuracy."
In September 2025, following a report by podcast journalist Pablo Torre, the league opened an investigation into whether a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC -- a company that filed for bankruptcy last year -- broke league rules, Earlier this year, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of at least $248 million.