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The NBA fined the Clippers $30 million and stripped them of five picks.
Economy
The NBA announced on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Clippers will forfeit five first-round picks
and pay a $30 million fine for violating salary cap rules related to player Kawhi Leonard.
The sanctions follow an independent investigation by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Investigators found that the Clippers organization violated league rules by arranging for Leonard to receive off-the-field income through four companies affiliated with the team: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance.
The investigation found that the team facilitated endorsement deals between these companies and Leonard, encouraged the companies to enter into such deals by offering them business opportunities with the team, and paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives. Furthermore, the Clippers failed to disclose improper offers for off-the-field income through Leonard's then-business manager, Dennis Robertson.
Leonard violated the rules for circumventing restrictions through Robertson's actions: he pressured the Clippers to obtain off-the-field income and failed to reimburse personal expenses paid on his behalf.
The Clippers will forfeit first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA drafts. Owner Steve Ballmer received a one-year suspension from all league and club activities for knowingly seeking to assist Leonard in obtaining off-the-field income and approving a business deal that was a precondition to an endorsement agreement with Aspiration.
Clippers President of Business Operations Jillian Zucker has been suspended for one year without pay for being primarily responsible for unlawful endorsement deals and lying to investigators. President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended for six months without pay for participating in these deals and approving impermissible expenses.
Leonard has been ordered to pay the league $700,000. Robertson has been banned from dealing with NBA teams and their affiliates for five years. The Clippers organization will be subject to a review and monitoring program by the league office for five years.
"The player compensation system, as enshrined in the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, is a fundamental element of the basketball competition the league provides for the benefit of its teams, players, and ultimately, fans," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "I am deeply disappointed by the Clippers' egregious violations of our rules and the institutional and managerial failures that led to these violations. The severity of these sanctions reflects the seriousness of the violations."
The NBA and the NBA Players Association have entered into an agreement confirming that the sanctions imposed are final and binding on all parties.