What were the Clippers penalized for?

The NBA found that the team arranged outside income for Kawhi Leonard through four companies that did business with the team, in violation of the salary cap circumvention rules, per the NBA release of September 2, 2026.

Which draft picks did the Clippers lose?

First-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts, per the NBA.

Was Kawhi Leonard suspended?

No. The NBA required him to pay $700,000 in connection with his violations, per the release.

Can the Clippers appeal?

The release says the NBA and the players’ union agreed that the penalties are final and binding on all parties. The team has said it will challenge them, per WLRN, and how that would work was not reported.

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What the NBA found in the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard investigation, and what the penalties mean for agents and players

By McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM · Certified WNBA player agent · Former certified NBA agent

Published October 21, 2026. Last updated October 21, 2026.

The short version

The NBA announced on September 2, 2026 that the Clippers violated the salary cap circumvention rules in the Kawhi Leonard case. The team forfeits five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033 and pays a $30 million fine. Owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for one year, and Leonard pays $700,000.

What did the NBA find?

The NBA's September 2 release says the Clippers and Leonard violated the circumvention rules in the collective bargaining agreement, per the NBA. The investigation was run by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The release does not cite article numbers.

The central finding is that the team arranged outside income for a player. According to the release, the Clippers initiated off-court opportunities between Leonard and four companies that did business with the team: Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance. The team facilitated the endorsement agreements, induced the companies to sign by offering them team business, paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives, and failed to report improper solicitations made on his behalf.

Service members line the baseline of an NBA court before tip-off — An NBA arena before tipoff. The penalties land on the franchise, three executives, the player and his business manager. Photo: U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Luke Nowakowski, public domain.

What are the penalties?

For the franchise, the release lists a $30 million fine, the forfeiture of first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 drafts, and a five-year league-overseen compliance and monitoring program. It describes the Clippers as a prior offender. It does not state any change to the team's salary cap.

Individuals were penalized too, per the NBA:

Steve Ballmer, owner: suspended from all league and team activities for one year.
Gillian Zucker, president of business operations: suspended without pay for one year, including for giving false and misleading statements to investigators.
Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations: suspended without pay for six months.
Kawhi Leonard: pays the league $700,000, with no suspension.
Dennis Robertson, Leonard's then-business manager: banned for five years from conducting business with NBA teams and affiliates on behalf of any player or personnel.

The release says the NBA and the players' union agreed that the penalties are final and binding on all parties. The Clippers publicly said they reject the findings and plan to challenge them, per WLRN. Those two statements do not fit together cleanly, and the reports reviewed for this post do not explain how a challenge would proceed. The league also says Wachtell continues to receive information and that it will consider further action.

Why do endorsement deals fall under the salary cap rules?

A player's contract is limited by the cap, and the cap only works if all pay from the team side is counted. The guide to how the NBA salary cap works explains the limits. Money routed to a player through a company that does business with the team is a way around the limit, and the league treats it as pay. That is the theory behind the circumvention rules, and the release applies it to both sides: the team for arranging the deals and the player for what his business manager did.

Two officials sit at a wooden table and sign documents with pens during a formal agreement signing ceremony. — A contract signing. Outside income arranged through a team sponsor is what the cap circumvention rules cover. Photo: U.S. Department of State, public domain.

What does it mean for agents and business managers?

The Robertson ban is the part agents should read twice. A five-year bar from dealing with NBA teams on behalf of any player reaches past this one client, and the release ties Leonard's own violation to his business manager's conduct. A player answers for the people who act for him.

Agents notice the same pattern in routine work. Any outside deal that a team, its sponsors or its vendors helped create deserves a written record of who proposed it, what the company gets from the team and what the player does in return. The agent rules and certification path are in the guide to becoming an NBA agent. A deal that is clean on its face can still fail if the team arranged it as part of a contract negotiation.

What does it mean for the Clippers and for drafting?

Five first-round picks are gone over five consecutive drafts, starting in 2029. First-round picks are the cheapest source of talent in the league because they are paid on the rookie scale, so the loss limits how the team can rebuild on cost-controlled contracts. The team can still trade second-round picks and trade for players, which the release does not restrict.

Leonard is no longer on the roster. The AP reported he was traded to the Toronto Raptors this summer, per WLRN.

Sources

Data current as of October 21, 2026. Figures are linked where each one appears. Leagues and regulators update these rules; check the source before relying on a number.

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