LOS ANGELES — The NBA imposed a sweeping punishment against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday for violating salary cap circumvention rules, suspending franchise owner Steve Ballmer for one year, fining the team $30 million and forcing it to forfeit five first-round draft picks.
Also, two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard was hit with a $700,000 penalty, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was banned for six months, and team president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year.
The Clippers will give up one first-round pick in each draft from 2029 to 2033.
The league came down hard on the organization after a nearly yearlong investigation led by an outside law firm.The Clippers had said multiple times that they had done nothing wrong and expected to be exonerated.
“I think that we’re going to be in the clear,” Leonard said in April, “so I’m not stressing it.”