The NBA has handed down its ruling in the Kawhi Leonard investigation, and the result is a major break for the Toronto Raptors.
After a yearlong probe, the league found the Los Angeles Clippers had circumvented the salary cap. The punishment is steep: five first-round picks gone, plus a $30 million fine for owner Steve Ballmer.
Leonard himself avoided the harshest possible fallout. His only penalty is a $700,000 fine in restitution tied to improper benefits provided by the Clippers for his uncle and former business rep, Dennis Robertson. There will be no contract void and no suspension for Leonard, which means the Raptors’ June 30 trade with Los Angeles is expected to be unpaused and move forward without penalty.
That deal includes Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, four draft picks and a pick swap heading to Los Angeles, and those pieces are not affected by the investigation’s outcome.
The Clippers’ draft punishment stretches into the future. They will forfeit five of their own first-round selections, beginning in 2029 and running through the 2033 NBA Draft.
The league said its investigation uncovered a pattern of misconduct and “significant” violations by the Clippers organization. According to the NBA, the franchise actively created off-court income opportunities between Leonard and four companies that do business with the team, and it did so by offering those companies business from the Clippers.
The league also said Leonard, through the actions of his uncle on his behalf, broke circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to help him secure off-court income opportunities while not reimbursing payments the team made for personal expenses.
Robertson, Leonard’s former business rep, was fired by Leonard in June and has now been banned from the NBA for five years.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that he is “deeply disappointed” by the Clippers’ conduct and the violations of league rules, and added that the penalties match the seriousness of what the league found.
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