Jazz owner Ryan Smith said the NBA got it right in punishing the Clippers, but he also made clear he isn’t turning on Steve Ballmer.
In an interview with Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports, Smith described Ballmer as a “stand-up individual” while saying the league had to enforce its rules after its investigation into the Clippers. The case ended with Ballmer suspended from team activities for one year, the franchise fined $30 million and stripped of five first-round draft picks.
“This game’s tricky. This game’s hard,” Smith said. “Obviously we have rules, and the NBA’s got to do it, and I’m glad he accepted it, and we all can just turn the page and move on.”
The punishment came after the NBA concluded the Clippers circumvented the salary cap through endorsement arrangements involving former star Kawhi Leonard.
Smith drew a sharp line between his respect for Ballmer and the league’s responsibility to act. He said owners have to be held to the same standard, no matter how well they know each other.
“I love Steve,” he said. “I think he’s been an incredible owner in the league.
His impact, I think the NBA is way better with him. But this is just one of those things.”
That view seems to track with how many of Ballmer’s fellow owners are likely seeing it: appreciation for what he has brought to the league, including the privately financed Intuit Dome and his willingness to spend, alongside the reality that salary-cap circumvention cuts at the core of the agreement every team plays under.
Smith did not defend the Clippers’ actions or downplay the size of the penalty. He simply separated Ballmer the owner from the league’s decision to punish the franchise.
In Other News...
Clippers Enter A Damaging New Chapter With Ballmer Forced Out
The Clippers are moving into an awkward and consequential stretch after the NBA approved John Gibson as interim governor and CEO, putting him in charge of the franchises business and basketball operations immediately. The change comes with Steve Ballmer suspended from all team-related activities for one year, a stunning development for a team that has spent the past several seasons trying to position itself as an elite contender in Los Angeles.
The backdrop here is far bigger than a routine leadership shuffle. The leagues findings centered on the Clippers use of no-show endorsement deals connected to Kawhi Leonard, and the matter is not finished, with the team still under a Department of Justice investigation. For a franchise already under pressure to win now, the uncertainty off the court is becoming as hard to ignore as the basketball questions on it. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Just Handed One Person Huge Power During Ballmers Absence
The Clippers have turned to a familiar legal hand to help steer the franchise through a sudden stretch of uncertainty, naming attorney John Gibson as interim governor and CEO while Steve Ballmer serves his one-year suspension. The move, approved by the NBA, puts Gibson in charge of both the basketball and business sides of the organization, with added responsibility to represent the team at Board of Governors meetings.
For a club trying to keep its footing off the court while one of the leagues most prominent owners is sidelined, the arrangement gives Gibson a wide lane to operate. Ballmers suspension stems from a league investigation into salary cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard, and the Clippers now have to manage the fallout with a temporary leader carrying real authority at a delicate moment. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Just Entered A Strange New Era Without Steve Ballmer
The Clippers are entering a rare stretch of business with Steve Ballmer out of the day-to-day picture, and the league has already signed off on the person who will help steer things from the top. John Gibson has been named the clubs interim governor and CEO during Ballmers yearlong suspension for cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard, giving the franchise a temporary new face in a role that usually comes with the owners full authority.
The organizational reshuffle does not stop there, either. Los Angeles is also operating without Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker, leaving Trent Redden to lead basketball operations while the team absorbs the fallout from the NBA investigation. For a franchise that has spent years trying to present stability and big-market ambition, the next several months will look unusually different. [Read more 🡒]