Twelve days that changed the tone
Steve Ballmer put out a statement overnight on the Los Angeles Clippers’ X account. The owner has accepted the NBA’s penalties, his own one-year suspension included. He says he carries “deep regrets”.
“This period has been very hard for everyone connected with the Clippers, and for that I am deeply sorry,” he wrote. “I want to apologise to our fans, our employees and the other NBA owners for the distraction and distress caused by this matter, for which I accept responsibility as the team’s lead owner.”
Compare that with September 2. On that day the franchise “strongly rejected” the league’s findings, promised to fight the penalties “by all means available” and demanded impartial arbitration. Ballmer now says the fine is paid and the club is complying.
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$30 million and five first-rounders gone
The league fined the Clippers $30 million and stripped five first-round picks, one in each year from 2029 through 2033. Kawhi Leonard, the player at the center of the case, was ordered to pay $700,000.
Ballmer is not the only one sitting out. Gillian Zucker, president of business operations, is suspended a year without pay. Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, gets six months without pay. Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and former business adviser, is barred five years from dealing with any team in the league.
The NBA’s year-long independent investigation laid out an organized run at the salary cap. According to the league, the Clippers connected Leonard with club sponsors to funnel him off-court income in exchange for commercial deals. Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, Lockton Insurance and Aspiration Partners are all named. Aspiration, a fintech that collapsed last year, had signed Leonard to a $28 million endorsement deal.
Still hanging over the franchise
The legal side keeps ticking. The US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York is looking at the franchise, per the New York Times. That probe sits at an early stage and nothing so far points to charges.
The NBA Board of Governors meets in New York on Monday and Tuesday. One more item is still open: the Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto, approved in principle on June 30, has yet to be completed.
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