Clippers Torched: NBA Slams $30M Fine, Ballmer Ban and Five-Pick Wipeout in Kawhi Probe
The NBA Just Nuked the Clippers
The NBA finally unloaded its nearly yearlong investigation into the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, and the verdict is brutal. The league slammed both for violating salary cap circumvention rules when the team signed Leonard to an extension in 2021. The findings cited 'multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization.'
The damage: a $30 million fine, a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer, a one-year unpaid suspension for president of business operations Gillian Zucker, and a six-month unpaid suspension for president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. Oh, and the Clippers must forfeit first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.
Add the picks sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019 to land Paul George and secure Leonard's free-agent signing, and LA will have coughed up a total of 10 first-rounders to get and keep Leonard. The New York Times reported Thursday that the Justice Department opened a criminal inquiry into the team's dealings with Leonard. So yeah, this is not just a basketball story anymore.
How Did the NBA Get Here?
A huge chunk of this case boils down to the words 'affirmative' and 'responsive' and how Leonard and four companies arrived at endorsement deals. The Clippers argued they were just a middleman, connecting interested companies to Leonard for possible endorsement deals, which is allowed. Investigators didn't buy it. They found the team repeatedly and flagrantly broke cap circumvention rules and even took steps to make emails look like they were playing by the book.
The report repeatedly rejects the Clippers' defense and cites admissions from the companies themselves. In one wild detail, investigators accuse the Clippers of directing a kickback from a massive scoreboard contract for Intuit Dome to Leonard in the form of an endorsement deal with scoreboard maker Daktronics—and even setting the terms. In other cases, the report points to the Clippers paying millions in 'consulting' fees shortly after Leonard's endorsement deals were executed.
This punishment lines up with what David Stern dropped on the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 for the under-the-table Joe Smith deal: five lost first-round picks, a then-record $3.5 million fine, and owner/executive suspensions with lost pay. The $30 million fine? The league appears to have imposed the maximum allowed fine for cap circumvention, $7.5 million, for all four companies it believes the Clippers conspired with—stacking up to $30 million.
Why So Harsh Without 'Hard Evidence'?
The Wachtell report alleges Ballmer failed to 'create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA's circumvention rules.' It also says he 'knowingly sought to help Kawhi Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities' and in at least one instance engaged in a significant act of team facilitation.
But the report doesn't cite specific evidence directly implicating Ballmer. Instead, it connects dots using the Clippers' knowledge of demands from Leonard's representative, Dennis Robertson, introductions between the Clippers and their sponsors, and related communications.
The NBA's official reason for the punishment: the number, depth and duration of the cap circumvention violations. Investigators cited contemporaneous notes from Frank—who appears to have gotten leniency for cooperating—indicating Robertson complained to Ballmer that Zucker was making introductions for 'bulls--- deals' and that 'I have to get paid.' The same notes say Ballmer told Robertson that Clippers staff were 'collective workers to try and help Leonard achieve his financial goals.'
It didn't help that the Clippers were previous offenders under Ballmer. They were fined $250,000 in 2015 for a similar accusation involving DeAndre Jordan. There was also a 2019 investigation into Leonard's signing where they were cleared but warned and forced through a seminar on the rules.
Still, it could have been worse. In the Joe Smith case, his contract was voided and his Bird rights were vacated. Leonard will have to write a $700,000 check, but he won't be suspended, and his contract and Bird rights remain untouched. The Clippers and Raptors will also be allowed to move forward with the agreed blockbuster trade to send Leonard to Toronto, one league source said. If it goes through, LA gets two first-round picks.
Do the Clippers Have Any Recourse?
The NBA said the league and the NBPA agreed on the penalties, making them final and binding. That's a massive blow because it takes arbitration—the Clippers' best hope to clear their name—off the table. Arbitration under the CBA can only be initiated by the NBA or the NBPA, and both signed off.
The Clippers released a statement saying they 'intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.' Ballmer's attorney, David Kelley, added that they are 'exploring every legal remedy to address this gross injustice.' That screams potential lawsuit against the NBA. Ballmer has the cash for a legal war, but that doesn't mean he'll go all the way—or win. Discovery can be ugly, and the Clippers are already buried in damning emails and exchanges from the Wachtell report. Courts also tend to defer to private associations, and the Clippers agreed to the NBA's rules. A lawsuit is an uphill battle.
What This Means for the Clippers' Future
It means no access to first-round capital for trades. Trading Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers last February started LA's rebuild of draft assets after the Paul George (2019) and James Harden (2023) deals gutted the cupboard. The Clippers got two picks in that Zubac deal, including the one used on Keaton Wagler at No. 5 in this year's draft.
Before the penalties, LA had seven first-round picks over the next seven seasons, with four tradable. But because of prior trades, they didn't control their own first until 2030—the Thunder have swap rights in 2027, the 76ers own the Clippers' 2028 pick and have swap rights in 2029.
By losing five firsts—the 2029 pick from the Pacers plus their own 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 picks—the Clippers' only future picks are the less favorable of their own, Oklahoma City's and Denver's (if 6-30) in 2027, plus the 2029 pick. None of those can be traded.
Could they get some relief? As part of the agreed Leonard-to-Toronto trade, the Clippers were supposed to receive unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033. But they wouldn't be allowed to trade those picks in future deals even if the trade goes through because of the Stepien rule, which bars teams from trading a future first if it leaves them without first-round picks in any two consecutive future years.
What About Steve Ballmer?
Ballmer has publicly and privately vowed to fight the NBA's decision, but it's unclear what options he has outside the court system. It's also unclear if his one-year suspension starts immediately or if he can ask a court or arbitrator to step in first.
The Clippers' alternate governor is Ballmer's business associate Dennis Wong, who owns 1% of the team. Wong was named as an investor in Aspiration but isn't mentioned in the NBA's release. This does not mean Ballmer has to sell the team like Donald Sterling did after being banned for life by Adam Silver in 2014. Technically, Sterling didn't have to sell either—his wife, Shelly Sterling, decided to sell before the board of governors could vote to remove him.
There is precedent for an owner sitting out a full year. As part of the 2000 Joe Smith salary cap case, the NBA suspended then-Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor for one season. GM Kevin McHale was also suspended one season. Other owners suspended for a year or more for non-cap reasons include Donald Sterling, Mark Stevens and Robert Sarver.
What About Lawrence Frank?
The Clippers haven't accepted the punishment, so they haven't named an interim leader of basketball operations. But it's likely GM Trent Redden, a respected veteran executive, will lead basketball ops. If Frank sits out six months, the suspension takes him past the 2027 trade deadline but lets him return in time for the draft, when the Clippers will have a first-round pick. In that scenario, he'd also be back for 2027 free agency, when LA is projected to have up to $50 million in cap space.
Who Is Gillian Zucker?
Zucker has been the Clippers' head of business operations since Ballmer bought the team, and she was the point person on all four deals between team sponsors who also had endorsement contracts with Leonard. The Wachtell report comes down hard on her, concluding that when interviewed, she made misleading and false statements to investigators.
In one detailed section, investigators wrote that when Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg told her he wanted to explore an endorsement agreement with Leonard, she said she would enlist a particular business agent to help Sanberg structure the agreement—an agent then under a retention agreement with the Clippers. One day later, the report says, Zucker reached out to that agent to help Sanberg.
That agent then emailed internal colleagues about the deal: Sanberg would offer Leonard $5 million plus $7 million in stock per year for four years as long as Leonard was with the Clippers. Investigators concluded Zucker improperly conveyed the proposed financial terms in that email. The agent told investigators neither he nor his internal team came up with those terms. All relevant witnesses, including Zucker, agreed Sanberg couldn't have come up with them because he had no experience structuring player endorsement deals.
What About Dennis Robertson?
The NBA announced Robertson, a controversial figure in league circles for years, will face a five-year ban 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. Robertson is Leonard's uncle and served as his business adviser for years.
He was directly involved in Leonard's dealings with teams, most notably the 2019 free agency negotiations. During those talks, Robertson made improper asks of the Clippers, including part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money, one source with direct knowledge told ESPN. The Athletic reported he made the same requests to the Lakers and Raptors. The Toronto Star reported Sept. 9 that Robertson also asked the Raptors for ownership stakes in outside companies and corporate sponsorship deals in which Leonard wouldn't have to do anything in return for the money.
Those verbal requests fell outside the CBA and made waves around the league—and reached the league office. The Wachtell report noted that as a direct result of Robertson's conduct on behalf of Leonard and the controversy around Leonard's signing with the Clippers, the NBA enacted a rules enforcement initiative. Among other things, teams must now report to the league office any solicitation by a player for compensation or other benefits not authorized under the CBA—even if the solicitation is rejected.
In July, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Leonard hired Harrison Gaines of Slash Sports as his new agent to lead all his business affairs. Gaines replaced Leonard's previous agent, Mitch Frankel, and the informal role Robertson previously held. In his statement Wednesday, Leonard alluded to Robertson in the opening paragraph: '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.'
Could the Clippers Get Picks Back?
Yes, there's precedent. In 2000, Minnesota lost its next five first-round picks for violating salary cap circumvention rules with its illegal attempt to sign Joe Smith. Three years later, the NBA gave the 2003 and 2005 first-round picks back to the Timberwolves, leaving them without picks in 2001, 2002 and 2004.