The Los Angeles Clippers have been handed one of the NBA’s most severe penalties after the league found the franchise guilty of circumventing salary-cap rules in connection with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA announced on Wednesday that the Clippers were fined $30 million, while Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000. The league also suspended owner Steve Ballmer and two senior executives as part of the punishment following a year-long investigation into sponsorship deals linked to Leonard.
As part of the sweeping sanctions, the Clippers were stripped of five first-round draft picks, making the penalty one of the largest ever imposed on an NBA franchise. The investigation focused on whether the team used sponsorship arrangements to bypass salary-cap restrictions while retaining Leonard. The NBA’s decision now leaves the Clippers facing significant financial, draft and organizational consequences.
Clippers Hit With Historic NBA Penalties Over Kawhi Leonard Cap Case
The NBA has handed the Los Angeles Clippers one of the most severe punishments in league history after finding the franchise guilty of circumventing salary-cap rules in connection with Kawhi Leonard. The league announced a $30 million fine for the Clippers, while Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended from all league and team activities for one year, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension and president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for a year.
The Clippers will also forfeit five first-round draft picks, including selections in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts. The penalties followed an investigation that lasted nearly a year and was conducted independently by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The league said the investigation uncovered a pattern of misconduct involving off-court income opportunities and endorsement arrangements connected to Leonard. The Clippers and their personnel will also be placed under a five-year compliance and monitoring program.
The investigation began in September 2025 after questions emerged over a reported $28 million endorsement agreement between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC, a fintech company that later filed for bankruptcy. The NBA said the Clippers facilitated endorsement arrangements between Leonard and four companies — Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance — by offering those businesses opportunities to work with the team. The league also found that the Clippers paid certain personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives and failed to report improper solicitations for off-court income.
The NBA also held Ballmer responsible for knowingly seeking to help Leonard secure off-court income opportunities. According to the league, Ballmer approved a business arrangement that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter an endorsement agreement with Leonard and failed to establish conditions that ensured the organization complied with the NBA’s circumvention rules. Commissioner Adam Silver said, “I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.”
Leonard was also found to have violated the league’s circumvention rules through the involvement of his former business manager and uncle, Dennis Robertson. The NBA said Leonard pressured the Clippers to help secure off-court income opportunities and failed to reimburse the team for certain personal expenses. Robertson, who Leonard fired in June, has been barred from conducting business with NBA teams and their affiliates for five years. Leonard, however, will not be suspended and said he entered his Clippers contract and the agreements in question “in good faith.”
Clippers Reject NBA Findings as Kawhi Leonard Trade to Raptors Remains Uncertain
The Clippers have strongly rejected the NBA’s findings and indicated that they plan to challenge the penalties. “We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the team said. The Clippers added that they would “vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us” and pursue an ethical and impartial arbitration process. The NBA and the players’ union have agreed that the penalties are final and binding.
The ruling also comes as Leonard’s proposed return to the Toronto Raptors remains unresolved. The Clippers had agreed to trade the two-time Finals MVP to Toronto in a deal that would send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and future draft assets to Los Angeles, but the trade has been on hold during the investigation. Leonard said he is focused on returning to Toronto and “closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.” The Clippers must now deal with the long-term impact of the draft-pick forfeitures, leadership suspensions and five-year monitoring program as they prepare for the new season.
