The NBA penalized the Clippers for salary-cap circumvention around Kawhi Leonard after a Wachtell Lipton investigation. The league said the team forfeits first-round picks in 2029 through 2033 and is fined $30 million. Steve Ballmer and Gillian Zucker are each suspended one year, Lawrence Frank six months without pay, Leonard owes $700,000, and Dennis Robertson is banned from NBA business for five years. The Clippers reject the findings. The NBA and NBPA called the penalties final.
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Shams Charania reported the NBA ruled on the Clippers after a yearlong Kawhi Leonard salary-cap probe: five first-round picks gone, a $30 million fine, suspensions for Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank, and Gillian Zucker, $700,000 restitution from Leonard, no contract void or Leonard suspension, and a ban on uncle Dennis Robertson. Sourced to ESPN.
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Kevin O'Connor recapped the NBA penalties as five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, a $30 million fine, a one-year Steve Ballmer suspension, additional suspensions for Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank, a $700,000 Leonard payment, and a five-year ban on Dennis Robertson. He quoted the NBA Communications release.
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Bill Simmons quote-tweeted Shams and called the Clippers ruling the biggest punishment in NBA history, adding that the franchise finally has a banner it can hang. That is a columnist reaction, not a second league announcement.
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Shams Charania posted that NBA rulings are final, with no formal appeal or arbitration available to the Clippers inside the league, so LA's only outlet is court. He quoted the Clippers' statement rejecting the findings as a biased investigation.
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Pablo Torre reported the SEC opened an investigation into Daktronics concerning Kawhi Leonard, according to the scoreboard-maker's CFO on an earnings call, in addition to NBA information requests. The CFO said the company is cooperating. That is separate from the NBA's announced penalties.