By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-04 18:36:49 | Updated at 2026-09-04 19:31:48
58 minutes ago
After a year-long investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers, the NBA stated on Sept. 2 that it found that the team and its member Kawhi Leonard circumvented the salary cap in violation of NBA rules.
As punishment, the league ordered the team to forfeit five first-round draft picks from 2029 to 2033, fined it $30 million, put it under a monitoring program for five years, and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year.
Leonard, who was traded to the Toronto Raptors in July, was also fined $700,000, while his uncle, who acted as his manager, is banned from conducting business around the league for five years.
“The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “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 league said the investigation, conducted by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, revealed that the Clippers team indirectly paid its superstar additional money beyond what teams are allowed to pay through standard player contracts.
This was done by introducing Leonard to four separate companies and facilitating contracts between them while offering business to these companies in exchange.
The investigation report states that Leonard was paid a total of $18 million by the companies Boingo, Daktronics, and Lockton by August 2021 for few to no services exchanged.
It adds that the companies signed contracts with Leonard in 2020 and, around the same time, signed multimillion-dollar consulting agreements with the Clippers.
The report states that the fourth company, now-bankrupt sustainability services company Aspiration, agreed to pay Leonard $7 million in cash and $20 million in equity. This agreement was made around the time it signed a $72 million contract with the Clippers and agreed to receive a $50 million personal investment from Ballmer.
According to the report, the Clippers also paid personal expenses of Leonard and his affiliates while his uncle and manager pressured the team to find off-court ventures for Leonard.
The Clippers have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing throughout the investigation, and they continue to do so while saying that the league’s announcement differs from what the team was told privately.
“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 organization said in a statement shared by ESPN reporter Shams Charania.
“[Those in the league] have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s [sic] fairness and accuracy.”
The Clippers team added that it will “vigorously challenge” the NBA’s findings and penalties and look forward to an “ethical and impartial arbitration process.”
However, Charania noted that the league’s ruling is final and there is no appeal or arbitration process the Clippers can use, so the team would have to go to court in order to fight the decision.
The loss of draft capital is really consequential for Los Angeles, especially as the team is not expected to finish high in the standings after completely revamping its roster while it attempts to enter a new era.
Teams that finish lower in the standings are given better odds in the draft as a way to acquire young talent.
The Leonard trade is still expected to go through, even though it was previously put on pause because of the investigation.
Unlike the Clippers, Leonard, in a statement given to Charania, accepted the league’s conclusion.
However, he stated that he entered into these contracts with the Clippers and other companies in good faith and with no knowledge of anyone’s intent to circumvent the salary cap.
“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,” he said.
The investigation
stemmedfrom a podcast episode by independent journalist Pablo Torre in September 2025 that claimed that Leonard had a secret $28 million contract with Aspiration and that he performed no services under it.
