The NBA has officially made a ruling on its investigation related to Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers, resulting in a loss of five future first-round picks for the Clippers and a $30 million fine for owner Steve Ballmer for violating salary cap rules when they signed Leonard in 2022, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
• The forfeiture of five first-round draft picks, one each in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA drafts.
• A fine of $30 million to owner Steve Ballmer
• Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year.
• President of business operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year.
• President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months.
• Leonard must pay the league $700,000.
Leonard came out with a statement saying that he takes full responsibility for the incident and his lapses in judgment and that he is hoping to move forward with a fresh start in Toronto.
It seems that although the Clippers and Leonard have been severely reprimanded, the Leonard trade to the Toronto Raptors that was announced a few months back and had been on hold due to the investigation has been allowed by the NBA. The trade was originally agreed to in June and was put on hold while the NBA investigated the Clippers.
The NBA stated that there is no contract void or suspension for Leonard, and he said in his statement, “As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”
The Clippers have also released a statement saying that they “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.” It also seems that the Clippers will look to challenge and fight the NBA’s rulings through an arbitration process.
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