{"id":7947,"date":"2026-09-02T21:38:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7947"},"modified":"2026-09-02T21:38:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:38:50","slug":"clippers-stripped-of-five-first-round-picks-fined-30-million-for-kawhi-leonard-cap-scandal-in-nba-bombshell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7947","title":{"rendered":"Clippers stripped of five first-round picks, fined $30 million for Kawhi Leonard cap scandal in NBA bombshell"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After a year-long investigation, the NBA ruled that the Clippers violated the league\u2019s salary cap circumvention rules by \u201cinitiating off-court income opportunities\u201d for star forward Kawhi Leonard.<\/p>\n

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And the punishments were harsh. <\/p>\n

As a result of the investigation, the Clippers have been stripped of five first-round picks, the league issued a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspended Ballmer, President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank for various periods, the NBA announced on Wednesday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leonard will have to pay the league $700,000 while his uncle and former business representative, Dennis Robertson, is being banned by the NBA from all business dealings for five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NBA\u2019s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans,\u201d NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. \u201cI am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers\u2019 institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct.\u00a0The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The NBA\u2019s full announcement stated:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.\u00a0 As described in a summary report prepared by Wachtell Lipton\u2026the Clippers broke the rules by:<\/p>\n