The NBA has finally made a ruling on the Kawhi Leonard-LA Clippers saga. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Clippers have effectively been found guilty of cap circumvention, an issue Pablo Torre first brought to light last summer.
Torre's report claimed that Leonard and the Clippers subsidized his contract with a less-than-legitimate brand deal with a company called Aspiration—a move that is illegal under current NBA rules. And on Wednesday, the NBA finally brought down the hammer.
Before I break down the punishments and my thoughts on the matter, here is the full tweet from Charania, explaining exactly what the NBA has decided:
"BREAKING: The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after yearlong probe -- stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker, sources tell ESPN.
"Kawhi Leonard will have to pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits by the Clippers for his uncle and former business rep, Dennis Robertson. No contract void or suspension for Leonard. And Robertson -- who was fired by Leonard in June -- is being banned by the NBA from all business dealings."
BREAKING: The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after yearlong probe -- stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence… pic.twitter.com/JCV5bI88BE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 2, 2026
Let's not bury the lede here. The fines and suspensions are certainly daunting. Not necessarily by billionaire and millionaire standards (they aren't), but rather the precedents the NBA has set with past fines. But the picks are the biggest news here.
The Clippers have been stripped of five first-round picks. Five. In a follow-up tweet, Charania noted that the penalty will begin in 2029, meaning the Clippers will forfeit a first-rounder in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.
Charania also clarified the suspensions for each person he noted in the original tweet. Alongside his $30 million fine, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will be suspended from all team activities for one year. President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker will be suspended for one year without pay, and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank for six months without pay.
On top of that, Charania mentioned the following: "The Clippers organization