/scanSports
The NBA's Clippers penalty: five first-round picks, $30M, and a year off for Ballmer.
The league says the Clippers circumvented the cap through a $28M Aspiration endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard.
- Observed threads
- 7
- Source clusters
- 3
- Observed
- Updated
The team
Forfeits its 2029 to 2033 first-round picks, pays a $30M fine, and enters five years of league compliance monitoring.
The people
Steve Ballmer and Gillian Zucker are suspended for a year, Lawrence Frank for six months, and Leonard's uncle Dennis Robertson is barred from NBA business for five years.
The player
Leonard is fined $700K, not suspended, and says he signed in good faith. His trade to Toronto, on hold since June, is expected to go through.