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Facing a mountain of evidence, the NBA had to bring the hammer down hard on Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the Clippers in the salary cap circumvention case involving Kawhi Leonard and former team sponsor Aspiration, among others. If not, 29 other team owners would have gotten the message that the price for circumventing the salary cap was worth it.
Adam Silver has thrown the book at Ballmer and the Clippers. The NBA released its findings and penalties, and it hits the Clippers hard:
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• The Clippers forfeit five first-round draft picks (2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033).
• The Clippers are fined $30 million.
• Owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from “all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.”
• Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended for one year without pay.
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• Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months.
• Kawhi Leonard must pay the league $700,000.
• Leonard’s already-fired business manager, Dennis Robertson (better known as “Uncle Dennis”), is banned from conducting NBA business for five years.
Both the NBA and NBPA have agreed on the details and punishments involving Leonard, which means there is no arbitration case coming — that is only for the players, not the franchise, and the players’ union signed off on this (which means, ultimately, that Leonard did).
Leonard does not face a suspension or voiding of his contract, only the fine. That means the trade that would send him to Toronto for Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick likely goes through in the coming weeks.
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“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…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/steve-ballmer-suspended-one-clippers-210031885.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-02 21:00:00
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