The NBA suspended Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year and fined the franchise $30 million on Wednesday, concluding a yearlong investigation into salary cap circumvention rules involving star player Kawhi Leonard and corporate partners.
Alongside Ballmer’s suspension from all league and team activities, the Clippers were forced to forfeit five first-round draft picks covering the 2029 through 2033 NBA Drafts. The 2029 pick is the unprotected first-rounder the Clippers received from the Indiana Pacers in last season’s Ivica Zubac trade. The sanctions stem from an extensive probe into impermissible off-court benefits provided to Leonard during his tenure with the team.
The NBA also told Leonard he must pay $700,000. Leonard’s uncle and business associate, Dennis Robertson, was also banned from league activity for five years. The league came down hard on the organization after a nearly yearlong investigation led by an outside law firm. The Clippers had said multiple times that they had done nothing wrong and expected to be exonerated. The team maintained that stance after the league’s announcement.
NBA strips Clippers of 5 first-round draft picks, fines
“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.”
Kawhi Leonard ha estado en el centro de la investigación salarial de la NBA desde que el periodista Pablo Torre informó que había firmado un contrato de patrocinio por 28 millones de dólares con Aspiration, una empresa de tecnología ecológica.
Torre afirmó que Leonard no realizó ningún servicio bajo este acuerdo. Durante la investigación, se analizaron otras tres empresas vinculadas a la franquicia. Tanto Leonard como Ballmer negaron cualquier irregularidad, mientras que el equipo calificó las acusaciones de absurdas.
Executive Suspensions and Findings
NBA suspends Clippers owner Ballmer for year in Kawhi
Ballmer “knowinglysought to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities worth millions of dollars, and approved a business deal that Ballmer
knew was a precondition for Aspiration [Partners] to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard,” the league said. The Clippers and their personnel will be subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for five years, according to the NBA.
Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for one year, and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months. Zucker provided false and misleading statements, according to the league.
The Aspiration Partners Connection
The allegation centered on Leonard’s four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with the now-collapsed tech firm Aspiration, a partnership that Pablo Torre reported was an agreement where Leonard did not perform any services.
NBA suspends Clippers owner Ballmer, fines team $30M in
Investigators expanded their probe beyond Aspiration to other team sponsors like Daktronics and Boingo Wireless.
ESPN's article regarding the LA Clippers investigation — for which the NBA declined to cooperate — contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded. Soon
Clippers Vow to Fight While Leonard Faces Restitution
With the league investigation concluded, the final decisions were announced on Wednesday. The findings center on allegations regarding off-court income.
