The NBA has stripped the Los Angeles Clippers of five first-round draft picks and fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million at the conclusion of its probe into alleged salary cap circumvention with All-Star Kawhi Leonard.
The league is also fining Leonard $700,000.
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The NBA announced the decision Wednesday. The Clippers will be stripped of first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.
Leonard, who has since ben traded to the Toronto Raptors in a deal that’s been held up by the NBA’s investigation, released a statement on social media shortly after the league’s announcement.
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.
“I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.
“For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”
The decision comes months after journalist Pablo Torre unveiled the possible violation during an episode of his podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” During the program, Torre revealed an agreement between Leonard and a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration, in which Ballmer was heavily invested. The agreement paid Leonard $28 million to essentially do nothing. Ballmer was accused of using the $28 million deal as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap and give Leonard more money to sign with the franchise.
On the day the story originally broke, the Clippers and Ballmer denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement denying the allegations made by Torre.
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A portion of the team’s statement read:
“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap. The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd …
“There is nothing unusual about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.”
Later that day, the NBA announced it was “commencing an investigation” into the situation.
NBA investigated Clippers over Kawhi Leonard signing in 2019
It marked the second time in just a few years that the NBA launched an investigation into whether Leonard received impermissible benefits when he signed with the Clippers in 2019.
Months after Leonard signed with the team, it was revealed the NBA investigated Leonard’s camp — specifically his uncle Dennis Robertson — which allegedly asked teams for various impermissible benefits during Leonard’s free-agent negotiations.
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Robertson is alleged to have asked teams for “part ownership of the team, a private plane that would be available at all times, a house and — last but certainly not least — a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money that they could expect if Leonard played for their team,” per a 2019 report by The Athletic. Those requests were allegedly made of both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors during the time Leonard was a free agent, per The Athletic.
Months after Leonard agreed to a three-year, $104 million deal with the Clippers, the NBA revealed it found no evidence the team granted illegal benefits to Leonard during his free agency.
Clippers, Steve Ballmer continued to deny wrongdoing
In the wake of the new investigation — which the NBA launched in September — Ballmer and the Clippers continued to deny any and all allegations of wrongdoing. While speaking at a Sports Business Journal event later that month, Ballmer said he was “quite confident” the Clippers “abided by the rules.” He welcomed an investigation, saying it would “get the facts out there.”
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Torre, meanwhile, continued to release additional podcasts on the topic, unveiling more evidence suggesting the Clippers funneled money into Aspiration in order to pay Leonard on time.
While addressing the situation during a Board of Governors meeting in September, NBA commissioner Adam Silver implied he would need clear and obvious evidence the Clippers violated NBA rules in order to issue a punishment against the team or Ballmer. “If there was the mere appearance of impropriety, I would be hesitant to act,” Silver told reporters.
Torre’s final deep dive on the topic came at the end of September, though he released a seven-and-a-half-minute compilation video in December, which featured all six episodes in which he covered the situation.
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Since September, however, all parties generally stayed quiet about the situation.
Kawhi Leonard trade on hold due to NBA investigation
But that changed in June, when the Clippers traded Leonard back to the Raptors in a mega-deal. Upon news of that trade, questions emerged regarding whether Leonard could be dealt with the NBA still in the middle of its investigation.
A few weeks later, both the Clippers and Raptors issued statements. Due to the investigation, the trade was considered on hold. In their statement, the Clippers once again proclaimed their innocence. The Raptors said the NBA told them they would “assume the risk of any potential” punishment to Leonard. Because of that, the team decided to hold off on the deal until the league’s investigation was finished.
“The league office informed us that, as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi. In light of this we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”
That same day, ESPN’s Shams Charania said the expectation was that the trade would be completed eventually, suggesting Leonard’s punishment was not going to be severe enough to stop the deal.
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While there was still uncertainty over when the NBA would conclude its investigation, it was reported that the league could do so ahead of its Board of Governors meeting in July.
Despite the presence of Leonard and James Harden, the Clippers got off to a miserable start, going 5-16 to open the season. Leonard missed 10 of those games due to ankle and foot injuries. The Clippers went just 2-8 during that stretch.
But the team turned things around once he was back. Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game and received MVP votes for the first time in four seasons. Though he performed well, the Clippers ultimately couldn’t dig themselves out of their early hole. The team finished over .500 — going 42-40 on the year — but fell in the play-in tournament to the Golden State Warriors.
With Leonard set to enter the final year of his contract, the subject of an NBA investigation and the Clippers seemingly stuck in neutral, the team decided it was best to move on from the superstar.
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