NBA hammers Clippers, Steve Ballmer for salary cap circumvention as Kawhi Leonard avoids suspension

The NBA announced punishments for the Los Angeles Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer, star player Kawhi Leonard and others on Wednesday for "violating the salary cap circumvention rules." The punishments — which include a one-year suspension for Ballmer, a $30 million fine for the Clippers, five forfeited first-round draft picks for the franchise and a $700,000 fine for Leonard — came after a nearly year-long investigation into the franchise and Leonard's endorsement deals.

Leonard will not have his contract voided or face a suspension, however. He is expected to be traded to the Toronto Raptors, who agreed to a deal for Leonard in June, but the trade has been on hold as the NBA's investigation continued.

"The investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules," the league said in a press release.

The investigation into Leonard and the Clippers began last September, when investigative journalist Pablo Torre dropped a bombshell podcast alleging that the Clippers had circumvented the salary cap. That investigation unearthed a previously unknown endorsement agreement between Leonard and Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company that had raised hundreds of millions of dollars for its…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/