NBA hammers Clippers, Steve Ballmer and Kawhi

The NBA handed down sweeping penalties to the Clippers, proprietor Steve Ballmer, workforce executives and star Kawhi Leonard following an investigation into allegations the group circumvented the league’s collective bargaining settlement.

The Clippers said in a assertion that they “vehemently reject the NBA’s findings” and vowed to problem them. Leonard issued a assertion saying he had no direct data of the alleged violations.

The findings announced Wednesday, the consequence of a practically yearlong investigation carried out by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, a high-powered New York law firm, decided the Clippers broke NBA guidelines by initiating off-court income alternatives between Leonard, their seven-time All-NBA ahead, and 4 corporations doing business with the workforce: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance.

The firm’s report acknowledged that the Clippers facilitated endorsement agreements between the businesses and Leonard, induced the businesses to enter into the agreements by offering them business from the workforce, paid personal bills on behalf of Leonard and his representatives and failed to report improper solicitations for off-court income made on Leonard’s behalf by Dennis Robertson, his uncle and business supervisor at the time.

The investigation discovered Leonard acquired $66 million in endorsement pay from 4 corporations facilitated by Ballmer and Clippers executives at the behest of Robertson. Ballmer invested $60 million in Aspiration, and three other corporations acquired $22 million from the Clippers in consulting charges.

As a consequence, the NBA issued the next sanctions:

• The Clippers are forfeiting 5 first-round draft picks, in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA drafts, and are fined $30 million.

• Ballmer is suspended from all league and workforce actions for one 12 months for “knowingly seeking to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.”
• Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one 12 months for “being primarily and directly culpable for the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators.”
• Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months for “his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Mr. Leonard and his family.”
• The Clippers group and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league workplace for 5 years.
• Leonard is required to pay the league $700,000.
• Robertson is banned from conducting business or in any other case partaking with NBA groups and their associates on behalf of or with respect to any participant, worker or other league or workforce personnel for 5 years.

The Clippers said they cooperated absolutely with the investigation and will battle “to demonstrate our innocence.”

“The NBA’s findings … are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the workforce said in a assertion. “What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner [Adam] Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure its fairness and accuracy.”

”… We intend to vigorously problem these findings and penalties through every avenue out there to us and look ahead to an moral and neutral arbitration course of.”

The Clippers most probably can have to take their claims to court. A league source not approved to focus on the sanctions publicly said there’s not an arbitration or appeal course of. Arbitration is reserved for gamers, and the National Basketball Players Assn. declined to pursue use of it in this case.

The Clippers launched a letter despatched to Silver arguing Ballmer spent practically $50 million funding the investigation and cooperated in every manner attainable.

“Mr. Ballmer’s reputation has been irreparably damaged as he now finds himself embroiled not only in this heavily biased investigation, but in civil litigation, the Aspiration bankruptcy proceeding, and more,” the letter acknowledged. “It seems increasingly likely that Mr. Ballmer will spend years defending himself and the team against a podcaster’s baseless claims.”

Leonard issued a assertion denying data of the wage cap violations without contesting the firm’s findings.

“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,” Leonard’s assertion read. “I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.

“For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”

Seven years after he got here home to the Southland as the centerpiece of an bold new Clippers period, Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors on June 30 for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a slew of draft picks, but the deal was put on maintain pending the result of the investigation. Leonard led the Raptors to the NBA championship in 2019. It stays unclear whether or not the commerce shall be finalized.

The probe was triggered when the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast aired an episode Sept. 3, 2025, detailing the contract Leonard acquired from Aspiration, a self-described “socially-conscious and sustainable banking services and investment products” firm that went bankrupt months earlier.

The deal with Leonard got here to mild in Aspiration’s chapter paperwork. Joseph Sanberg, co-founder of the company, pleaded guilty in October to federal expenses of conspiring to bilk traders out of $248 million and on June 1 was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.

One of the first traders in Aspiration was Ballmer, the previous longtime chief government of Microsoft whose estimated web price is $139 billion. He has owned the Clippers since 2014.

Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021. A month later, the Clippers announced a $300-million sponsorship deal with the company. Ballmer practically granted Aspiration naming rights to the workforce’s new $2-billion area but instead selected financial providers firm Intuit.

Two years later when Aspiration was experiencing extreme financial difficulties, Ballmer invested an extra $10 million, and Clippers co-owner Dennis Wong — Ballmer’s former school roommate — invested $1.99 million, 9 days before Leonard acquired a $1.75-million cost from the company. Leonard was paid $21 million of the $28 million agreed upon in his contract with Aspiration.

Leonard wouldn’t speak about the allegations during the 2025-26 NBA season because the investigation was ongoing and brushed it off during media day last September.

“None of us did … wrongdoing and, yeah, that’s it,” he said. “We invite the investigation.”

Asked if he carried out any endorsement work for Aspiration, Leonard said, “I understand the full contract and services that I had to do. Like I said, I don’t deal with conspiracies or the click-bait analysts or journalism that’s going on.”

Players are allowed to have endorsement and business offers, but at issue was whether or not the Clippers participated in arranging the aspect deal past merely introducing Aspiration executives to Leonard. Doing so could be a violation of Article 13 of the NBA collective bargaining settlement.

ESPN reported Aug. 17 that NBA investigators met with Ballmer and other Clippers officers in an attempt to agree to findings before the case went to arbitration. Although ESPN wrote that three sources told reporters the NBA discovered no evidence exhibiting Ballmer funneled money through workforce sponsors to pay Leonard to circumvent the wage cap, the NBA immediately pushed back, releasing a assertion that read “ESPN’s article regarding the L.A. Clippers investigation — for which the NBA declined to cooperate — contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”

In his only public feedback since the accusations first surfaced, Ballmer told ESPN last September that he was “conned” by Sanberg and Aspiration. He also said he knew nothing of the endorsement deal between the company and Leonard.

“We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration,” Ballmer said. “The deals were all locked and loaded. Then, they did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved.”

Ballmer can’t wipe his fingers clean of Aspiration yet. He was added as a defendant in a civil lawsuit against Sanberg and others related with Aspiration — renamed Catona Climate last 12 months just before the chapter submitting — introduced by 11 traders in the company. Ballmer and other defendants are accused of fraud and aiding and abetting fraud, with the plaintiffs looking for at least $50 million in damages.