New York (AFP) - The Los Angeles Clippers suffered a multimillion-dollar fine and the withdrawal of five first-round draft picks on Wednesday for violating NBA salary rules related to the contract of their star, Kawhi Leonard.

First modification: 09/02/2026 - 23:49 Last modification: 09/03/2026 - 00:45

The sanctions come after a league investigation concluded that the Clippers helped Leonard circumvent salary cap restrictions.

He would have done so through commercial agreements with sponsors linked to the franchise. This maneuver violated the financial balance rules of the North American basketball league.

"I am deeply disappointed by the egregious violations of our rules and the Clippers' institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

The Clippers were fined $30 million and will lose a first-round NBA draft pick each year from 2029 to 2033.

Leonard, for his part, was fined $700,000.

The Clippers had agreed to trade Leonard to Toronto in July, but the Raptors said they would wait for the outcome of the investigation before finalizing the deal.

"As I return to Toronto, I'm focused on what I can control, on closing this chapter and moving forward with a clean slate," the star said in a statement.

Serious violations

The team's owner, Steve Ballmer, one of the richest men in the world, was banned from all NBA and team activities for a year.

The club's president of business operations, Gillian Zucker, was suspended for one year without pay; and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months.

"The harshness of the sanctions reflects the seriousness of the violations," Silver said.

The NBA described the Los Angeles quintet's conduct as "a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant violations of the rules."

The law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz discovered that the Clippers initiated and facilitated off-court sponsorship revenue deals between Leonard and four companies that had deals with the team: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance.

The investigation concluded that the Clippers induced these companies to sign agreements with Leonard by offering them business on behalf of the team to circumvent the salary cap.

According to the investigation, the team also paid personal expenses for the player and his representatives and failed to report improper requests for off-court income opportunities for Leonard made by his then-business agent, Dennis Robertson.

"Deeply biased investigation"

The Clippers responded that the investigation was biased to fit what the team called a "predetermined narrative" and vowed to challenge the sanctions.

"We vehemently reject the NBA's conclusions, which are the result of a deeply biased investigation that seeks to justify a predetermined narrative rather than being based on facts and evidence," he said in a statement.

He added that the comments they had received directly from the NBA "differ from what was publicly announced today."

"Over the last year, we cooperated fully and in good faith, and now we will fight just as firmly to prove our innocence," the Clippers added.

Without knowledge

Leonard accepted responsibility for his representatives' actions, but said he had no idea there were salary cap violations involved.

"I regret the distraction this situation has caused to fans and my family," he said in a statement.

"I signed my contract with the Clippers, as well as the agreements in question, in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and without knowledge of any intention, on the part of anyone, to circumvent the salary cap," he added.

Agent Robertson was banned for five years from dealing with NBA teams or their affiliates on behalf of any player, employee or other member of the league's or team's personnel.

The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed that the sanctions are final and binding on all parties.

The league noted that investigators continue to receive information about the case and that it "will consider further measures if deemed appropriate."

© 2026 AFP

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