INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Diya TV) — Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said the team will comply with NBA penalties stemming from salary cap violations involving former star Kawhi Leonard and apologized to fans, employees and other team owners.
The NBA suspended Ballmer for one year, fined the Clippers $30 million and ordered the team to forfeit its first-round draft picks from 2029 through 2033. Ballmer said Sunday that the team has paid the fine.
“I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused,” Ballmer said in a statement.
The NBA announced the penalties Sept. 2 following a nearly yearlong investigation by outside law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The investigation found that the Clippers violated salary cap circumvention rules by arranging off-court income opportunities for Leonard with companies that did business with the team.
The league identified Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance among the companies involved. Investigators found that the Clippers facilitated endorsement agreements, offered team business to companies as an incentive and paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives.
The NBA said Ballmer knowingly sought to help Leonard obtain off-court income and approved a business agreement that served as a condition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement deal with Leonard. The league also cited Ballmer for failing to ensure the organization complied with salary cap rules.
Leonard was ordered to pay the NBA $700,000. The league also suspended Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker for one year without pay and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank for six months without pay.
The Clippers initially rejected the findings and said they planned to challenge the penalties. Ballmer said Sunday that disagreements with parts of the investigation remain but that the organization will comply with the league’s sanctions.
