Fines, suspensions, forfeited picks and temporary league banishment.
Those were the consequences the NBA came down with following their investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers for salary cap circumvention tactics with their superstar Kawhi Leonard.
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The hammer came down hard on the Clippers, Leonard and those found to be involved with the investigation.
The league said it “found a pattern of misconduct” regarding salary cap circumvention leading to “significant rules violations contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).”
The NBA handed down penalties that included a $30 million fine to the Clippers and a $700,000 fine to Leonard. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for a year, Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended for a year without pay and Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended for six months without pay.
The team lost five years worth of draft picks. Additionally, the Clippers will be monitored by the league for the next five years. Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, is banned from doing business with anything or anyone NBA-related for five years.
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The Clippers, once again, are the laughing stock of Los Angeles. Here are the winners and losers that come from this investigation:
WINNERS
Journalism
On behalf of journalists, shout out to Pablo Torre, who was the first one to break the news, now proven true.
Over the previous 11 months, Torre proved to all doubters that journalism, especially investigative journalism, is far from a dying demand. And despite naysayers who tried to attack his credibility as a journalist, he stuck to his guns, and the facts.
Amid content creators, internet personalities and media opportunists looking for their next chance to become a viral sensation, Torre proved that actual research and fact-checking is still the way to get clicks.
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The Clippers messed around, Torre found out.
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard is one of the biggest winners throughout all of this because he seemingly gets to pocket the millions of dollars that was wired to him for his “sponsorship duties.”
His name and reputation comes out completely unscathed. No one looks at Leonard as unethical. He doesn’t view himself that way. Leonard, in a social media post, denied any wrongdoing, but accepted responsibility.
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses and judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family,” Leonard wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question and good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations, and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.”
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Regardless, he still walks away with $28 million from the alleged sponsorship deal. He might have had to cough up $700,000 back to the league, but what’s $700,000 to $28 million? Accept responsibility (because that’s just good for PR), pay the little fine and go on with your life.
Board man got paid.
Toronto Raptors
Amid all the drama, the Toronto Raptors come out on top.
They traded for Leonard in June 2026, sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 and a 2027 first-round swap to the Clippers.
“For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with,” Leonard said in his social media post. “As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”
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ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the trade is “on track.”
“There’s full expectation that this trade will be going down, as is,” Charania wrote on X. “The trade is on track and both sides can move forward on this.”
Leonard will join a team that includes a supporting cast of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. USA TODAY Sports gave the Raptors-Clippers trade an A- grade, as they position themselves to be a dark horse in the Eastern Conference title.
Clippers trades
It seems like a gut-punching blow for the Clippers following the investigation. It is.
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The only win from this when you look at it, beyond the distractions, is that they won’t completely lose all their draft picks for the foreseeable future.
The Clippers still have one first rounder in three of the five impacted years due to the trades they made, including with Toronto to send Leonard to the Raptors.
The Clippers have a first-round pick swap in 2027 and unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033.
That’s the only positive takeaway from this debacle. Yes, they also get Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to join a roster that has Darius Garland. But how good will the team even be?
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Adam Silver
The NBA commissioner made a statement with the punishment. He sent a message throughout the league to other owners, players, agents, business partners, etc. You break the rules, there will be a price to pay. Literally, and figuratively.
LOSERS
Clippers organization
Once again, the Clippers prove to the league and the Los Angeles region, that they are the sporting joke of the town. Ballmer’s suspended and his team was fined $30 million. Presidents of basketball and business operations, Frank and Zucker, were suspended for six months and a year, respectively, both without pay.
The Clippers lose picks and a superstar. There’s a real world where the team could contend with the Sacramento Kings for worst team in the Pacific Division this year.
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Uncle Dennis
Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and former business manager, was not only fired amid the reports, but following the NBA’s ruling he has been banned from “conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee, or other league or team personnel,” the league said in a statement.
Robertson cannot associate with anyone or anything NBA, business-related for a period of five years.
Robertson violated the circumvention rules, on his nephew’s behalf, by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses, the league said.
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Maneuvers he tried in 2019 with the Lakers when Leonard was a free agent pursuing the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Lakers’ then-owner Jeanie Buss didn’t go for it.
Anyone and everyone who discredited Torre’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work
All of those who were quick to discredit the reporting and findings from Torre’s podcast, this section is for you, whether that’s Mark Cuban, Steve Ballmer or ESPN personalities. Just loud and wrong. The apology should be just as loud.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA penalizes Clippers, Kawhi Leonard: Winners and losers from investigation
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