NBA docks Clippers 5 first-round picks, levies $30 million fine after Kawhi Leonard probe

Key Points:

• The NBA has imposed its harshest penalties ever on the LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer after a year-long investigation found they circumvented salary cap rules to funnel millions to Kawhi Leonard, resulting in the loss of five first-round draft picks (2029-2033) and a $30 million fine.
• Ballmer was suspended for one year for knowingly facilitating off-court income opportunities for Leonard, including approving a deal with Aspiration as a condition for Leonard’s sponsorship; Clippers president Lawrence Frank and business operations president Gillian Zucker received six-month and one-year suspensions respectively.
• Kawhi Leonard was ordered to repay $700,000 and his uncle Dennis Robertson was banned from NBA team interactions for five years due to their roles in pressuring the Clippers to secure off-court income and failing to reimburse personal expenses.
• The investigation uncovered that the Clippers arranged endorsement deals for Leonard with four companies—Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance—using a novel but rejected theory to bypass salary cap rules; further information may still emerge as investigations continue.
• The probe originated from a 2025 report revealing Leonard’s $28 million no-show contract with Aspiration, a company deeply tied to Ballmer and the Clippers, which went bankrupt amid allegations of fraud involving its co-founder and other executives; Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is now expected to proceed.