Clippers will be irrelevant for years after NBA drops hammer on franchise

The NBA brought the hammer down on the Clippers for circumventing the league’s salary cap rules by “initiating off-court income opportunities” for star forward Kawhi Leonard.

And the impact of the harsh penalties after the yearlong investigation will be felt for years to come. 

Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers in action against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Getty Images

Among the punishments the NBA dished out out Wednesday: a $30 million fine for the Clippers; franchise owner Steve Ballmer (one year), President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker (one year) and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank (six months) being suspended for their roles in Leonard’s impermissible endorsement deals; Leonard having to pay the league $700,000 for his connections with the violations. 

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And the penalty that’ll have the biggest impact on the Clippers’ short- and long-term futures: having to forfeit five first-round draft picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.

One of the harshest penalties in league history. 

But in the eyes of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, an appropriate punishment considering the violations the league found that the Clippers committed. 

“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,” Silver said in a statement. “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.”

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The league didn’t hold back on the Clippers. 

The fine issued against the team is the largest in league history against a franchise — nearly 10 times more than the $3.5 million the Timberwolves were fined in 2000 (around $6.7 million in 2026 when adjusting for inflation) for circumventing salary cap rules with Joe Smith. 

But Ballmer has the money to pay for it. 

The suspensions will result in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/clippers-irrelevant-years-nba-drops-130000010.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-03 13:00:00

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