Category: NBA

Clippers fans, please join the rest of L.A. in booing Kawhi Leonard.

With your whole chests, let him hear it, the entitled scoundrel.

Greedy villain.

Selfish charlatan.

The Clippers’ star and his team found the one NBA franchise that was desperate enough to allegedly acquiesce to all of his out-of-bounds demands, to break the rules if only he would please, please pick them.

Yearning to be loved in the Lakers’ Los Angeles, the Clippers were easy marks during that 2019 free agency.

Leonard, fresh off winning his second NBA title and Finals MVP, took the Clippers and Steve Ballmer — the NBA’s richest owner, worth $152 billion, per Forbes — for a ride.

Read more:Plaschke: NBA drops the hammer on The Cheatin’ Clippers, and they can't shed the stink

Investigators have found that Leonard’s camp got the Clippers to agree, according to the findings of a nearly yearlong investigation by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, to audacious levels of salary cap circumvention.

Billed as a hometown hero, the All-Star from Moreno Valley apparently arrived with his hand outstretched, demanding all sorts of improper perks, including an extra $10 million annually — in addition to the above-board contracts that paid him between $32 million and $50 million each season.

And then he did his Kawhi laugh all the way to the bank.

Now tack on the NBA’s $30-million fine and five first-round draft picks to the bill as punishment, announced Wednesday.

Those fans in Toronto who’d promised never to let him pay for a meal in their city again — “KaWine and Dine,” they called it — never stood a chance. They should toast their luck.

The Clippers doth protest, denying all of it. Probably because the investigation’s findings make them out to be not only cheaters, but fools.

The team’s statement: “We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence.”

And Leonard? He isn’t taking personal accountability, but he’s accepting the NBA’s $700,000 fine and, in a statement, said he blames “lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle.”

His excuse: Everyone has a crazy uncle, right?

Leonard’s statement concluded by referencing the pending trade sending him back to the Raptors, which was put on hold in July: “As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”

A clean slate? He plans to pay the fine — roughly one game’s worth of pay — pass go and roll the dice again like nothing happened. A top 50 player of all time and a Hall of Fame scam artist, this fun guy.

Who knows what deliverables he promised, but all he wrought was more frustration and misery for the team’s long-suffering, loyal fans.

For his seven seasons with the Clippers, he was a part-time worker getting paid excessive overtime.

Oft-injured, he played in only about 60% of the team’s regular-season games. Injuries stink, and so did the opacity with which the Clippers shared news of their star’s health status.

Load-of-nonsense management.

Read more:NBA hammers Clippers, Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard following investigation

With a wish list so long even Santa would’ve pushed back, he also demanded the Clippers trade future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George. Because Leonard wanted a proven running mate. That didn’t only set back the Clippers, it set up the young Thunder for at least one NBA title run.

The Clippers, meanwhile, still have not won an NBA title. Still haven’t played in an NBA Finals.

But together, Leonard and the team made history with Wednesday’s punishment.

The Clippers’ one Western Conference finals appearance in 2021? That came with Leonard in street clothes, nursing a torn anterior cruciate ligament, an injury the Clippers kept secret until it was announced later that summer that their star player had surgery to repair it.

A reticent, low-wattage star, Leonard did nothing to improve the Clippers’ brand or relevancy.

He did the opposite.

The Clippers were sold a lemon. And now all they’re left with is the sour, bitter taste of having been played.

Read more:Read the NBA's investigation of the Clippers, Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard

The NBA handed Ballmer a suspension from all league and team activities for one year. Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker was hit with the same penalty. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank will be suspended without pay for six months.

And the Clippers didn’t have to do any of it.

Was Leonard really going to go to another team?

He didn’t want to freeze in Toronto and he would have melted under the Lakers’ purple-and gold spotlight. He also wouldn’t have been able to play king on a team with LeBron James on it.

Leonard was meant to be a Clipper. He really was. The latest chapter in a story that always ends unhappily ever after.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Will Kawhi penalties help Celtics maximize the Clippers' 2028 pick? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The NBA dropped a hammer on the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday for salary cap circumvention related to the signing of Kawhi Leonard, which included taking away five future first-round draft picks from the team starting in 2029.

The Boston Celtics have a vested interest in the Clippers’ 2028 first-round pick as part of the draft compensation received during the Jaylen Brown trade to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer.

The Boston/Los Angeles/Philadelphia 2028 pick delivery is convoluted but the volatility introduced from the Leonard penalties could potentially aid Boston in creating a 2028 lottery pick.

More importantly, the uncertainty surrounding Los Angeles’ future could enhance the value of that 2028 pick as a trade asset for a Celtics team that doesn’t need to wait around to see exactly where the pick lands before utilizing it to shape the team’s future roster.

If the Clippers’ 2028 pick lands in the lottery (picks 1-16), the Celtics will be able to swap their own draft position with the Clippers. The Spurs already hold the right to swap their pick with Boston, pursuant to the Derrick White trade, but Boston would swap whatever pick it has after that San Antonio swap and deliver that pick to the Clippers. There’s the possibility that, if Philadelphia landed in the early lottery (picks 1-8), the Celtics could instead swap for that pick, but a healthy 76ers team projects as one of the league’s elite.

It’s far more likely that Boston’s 2028 draft is tied to the Clippers.

If the Clippers’ pick lands outside the lottery (picks 17-30), Boston would instead receive Los Angeles’ pick outright and could potentially hold two non-lottery first-round picks, still potentially swapping Boston’s own draft spot with a San Antonio team that represented the West in the Finals last season and also projects to remain one of the league’s elite for the foreseeable future.

Why do the Clippers’ penalties matter?

The forfeiture of first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 make it incredibly difficult for Los Angeles to immediately improve its team via draft or trade avenues. What’s more, the suspensions of owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank create volatility in the brain trust as the Clippers attempt to plot a path forward in the aftermath of these penalties.

The flip side? The Clippers will be unfazed by the success of the team, even as the league introduces new lottery odds aimed to punish the teams that land at the bottom of the standings. Without its own picks for the foreseeable future, the Clippers will be nonplussed if they are a play-in team (gotta still fill up that new building) or if they are a bottom feeder (lower draft odds for the three worst teams won’t impact Los Angeles’ compete level).

The Clippers will either lean heavy into the younger assets acquired in the now-processable Leonard trade to Toronto and either hope that Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and Toronto’s future picks can keep them competitive, or pursue a roster firesafe that could help restock the draft picks the team is losing in the Leonard situation.

Boston probably won’t wait around to find out how it plays out. Next summer, the Celtics should be operating with a robust collection of future first-round picks, with the 2028 Clippers pick and an unprotected 2031 Philadelphia pick, potentially key assets in the hunt for adding another big-name talent.

What Boston does with those picks could ultimately sway how the Brown trade is judged. The Clipper penalties have added some chaos to one of the key assets. The Celtics simply have to hope that the Clipper volatility entices a future trade partner whenever Boston engages them in hopes of upgrading its own roster.

“If Player X gets a jumper”…

Ben Simmons Disease. If pigs could fly, we’d avoid walking under them, for what should be obvious reasons.

If Amen Thompson gets a jumper, he’ll be anywhere from a top-20 to top-1 player in the NBA, depending on whether “get a jumper” means “hit 35% of his two three-point attempts per game” or “hit 40% of his five attempts per game.

Look – If I inherit one million dollars, I’ve got a great idea for a video game. No, I’m not typing it out – nice try. If I don’t inherit one million dollars – by far the likeliest outcome – I’m starting a new career as a substitute teacher in a week. It’s easy to fantasize about what Thompson can be if he develops a jumper:

What if he can’t?

Thompson has alternative paths to stardom

It should be said that if Thompson stopped developing right now, and never got one iota better than he currently is, he’d level out at “pretty good”.

But, we don’t evaluate NBA players in a vacuum. We evaluate them relative to their contract. Estimates for the Average Annual Value (AAV) of Thompson’s next deal seem to range from $33 million to $50 million. He’s already a $33 million player:

Can he earn $50 million without a reliable three-pointer?

It’s not a question that will be answered with a rigorous scientific method here. That said, if Thompson can’t hit threes, there are, to my mind, at least two paths he can take that still lead to top 20ish player status. The first is simple: If Thompson can’t hit threes, he needs to hit more twos.

In 2025-26, Thompson hit 76.0% of his field goal attempts between zero and three feet. That’s good, but Giannis Antetokounmpo hit 80.0% of his. The Greek Freak peaked at 83.7% in 2022-23.

Thompson doesn’t need to match Antetokounmpo’s offensive production, but if he’s going to be a primary offensive option without a three-ball, he needs to approximate it. If he can cross that 80% threshold at his current volume, he’ll be such a dominant force at the rim that he might be able to survive as a star player without a three-pointer.

Otherwise, there may be one more way.

Thompson can dominate on defense

It’s been written about in great detail, but last year, Thompson sacrificed some of his defensive impact in favor of an increased offensive workload. He averaged 18.3 points and 5.3 assists per game to 2024-25’s 14.1 and 3.8, but his blocks per game slipped from 1.3 to 0.6.

It’s not (strictly) about the blocks per game, though, is it? We all saw Thompson’s defensive efforts wane last year. It’s hard to even blame him:

But if he wants to earn $50 million, and he can’t hit threes, it can’t happen again.

It’s simple: 14.1 points and 3.8 assists per game along with real Defensive Player of the Year (DPOTY) candidacy is not a $50 million player. Neither is 18.3 points and 5.3 assists without Defensive Player of the Year-ish credentials:

But 18 and 5 along with DPOTY consideration?

That’s approaching max contract territory. It’s also a reasonable, albeit difficult, ask.

Did someone say Ben Simmons? He was as productive offensively as Thompson last season in his prime, and he was always near the top of the DPOTY. At the peak of his powers, LeBron James was the best player in the league on both ends of the floor. Oh, and he could shoot, too.

LeBron James. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Prime Ben Simmons. This is rarified air. Some will suggest that these comparisons air on the ambitious side.

Well, that’s what the article is about – how Thompson can become approximately worth $50 million every season if he doesn’t develop a three-pointer. Either his rim efficiency leaps from “great” to “excellent”, or he manages to be one of the best wing defenders in the NBA as well as a strong secondary playmaker. If he can’t forge either of those paths, I personally cannot imagine how he’ll be a superstar player short of developing a three:

And that’s true for far too many NBA players.

The NBA’s nearly year-long investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers has ended with one of the harshest punishments in league history, sending the franchise back to territory last seen during Minnesota’s Joe Smith salary-cap scandal 25 seasons ago.

In the words of Mark Cuban, “Congrats Pablo.“

The League has concluded that the Clippers violated salary-cap circumvention rules by facilitating endorsement deals for Kawhi Leonard with Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The investigation began after reporting by Torre, and the process was conducted by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

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

The sanctions immediately reshape the Clippers’ already-long-gone future:

• The Clippers have been fined $30 million, the largest team fine in NBA history.
• Los Angeles is losing its first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.
• The Clippers have been placed under a five-year compliance and monitoring program.
• Owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended from all league and team activities for one year.
• President of business operations Gillian Zucker has been suspended without pay for one year.
• President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended without pay for six months.
• Leonard was fined $700,000 for improper benefits.
• Dennis “Uncle Dennis” Robertson has been banned from conducting business with NBA teams for five years, although Kawhi is his lone client.

The scale of the punishment closely mirrors, although it clearly tops it, the NBA’s response to Minnesota in 2000. More than 25 years ago, former NBA commissioner David Stern stripped the Timberwolves of five first-round picks and fined the franchise $3.5 million after determining it had entered into an illegal secret agreement with Smith. Two of Minnesota’s five picks were later returned.

The Clippers’ draft situation is particularly tough. After years of outgoing picks tied to the Paul George trade, the latest penalties leave Los Angeles without one of its own first-round selections until 2034 under the current setup. Sheesh…

All in all — to acquire and later via NBA sanctions — Kawhi Leonard cost the Clippers:

2021 first round pick
2022 first round pick
2023 first round pick
2023 first round pick swap
2024 first round pick
2025 first round pick swap
2026 first round pick
2029 first round pick
2030…

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 2, 2026

The NBA suspended Ballmer for knowingly seeking to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities and approving a business arrangement connected to the Aspiration endorsement. Zucker was cited for being directly culpable in the endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators, while Frank was disciplined for his involvement and for approving impermissible expenses involving Leonard and his family.

Funnily enough, Leonard’s punishment differed significantly from Smith’s 25 seasons earlier, as Kawhi came out pretty much unscathed. Smith’s contract was voided in 2000, while the NBA decided to leave Leonard’s contract intact and instead ordered him to pay $700,000 over improper benefits. Lots of money to us, pocket money for the Klaw.

Los Angeles “vehemently” rejected the NBA’s findings and said it intends to challenge the ruling through every available avenue. Meanwhile, Kawhi is still on his way to Canada to play basketball north of the border next season.

With it being almost a week since the Cody Williams trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the dust has settled. But we haven’t really gotten a pulse on exactly how Jazz fans felt about it. That’s the center of the question for this week’s Utah Jazz Reacts survey. Did you feel like it was enough? Was it not enough? Was it more than enough? Some Jazz fans might have felt like they wanted to wait longer to see how things would pan out. Some may have thought we should have traded him sooner.

In this poll, it’s going to be a simple question: were you happy with the return in the trade for Cody Williams?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country.

Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys:

Pablo Torre, the journalist whose reporting led the NBA to crack down on the Los Angeles Clippers for circumventing the league salary cap rules, said he is not done with the story.

“There is more to come than is in the NBA report,’’ Torre said Wednesday, Sept. 2 during his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out. "This is not everything.''

Torre, 40, and his two co-hosts did not provide specifics. But Torre did offer a couple of possible hints while pointing to the findings of an investigation conducted by referring to a law firm hired by the NBA, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

The investigation has centered one player, Kawhi Leonard, and how the Clippers funneled him money in violation of the league's salary cap rules after signing him in 2019, according to a summary of the law firm's investigation. Torre cited mention in the summary of an unidentified second player.

Torre also pointed out the investigation findings did not include Dennis Wong, the Clippers' co-owner. Steve Ballmer, the team’s controlling owner, has been suspended from all league and team activities for a year.

The NBA issued a statement that in part reads, "more information will likely surface over time."

Said Torre, “I encourage people to dig in as we continue to cover it and investigate still, especially now that it seems like the story isn't over yet ... I always want more documents. Somehow still I'm unsatisfied with the documents.’’

In May, Torre’s investigative work on the Clippers’ scandal earned him a Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting. But he also has faced criticism, largely from the Clippers.

Clippers took aim at Pablo Torre

David Kelley, an attorney representing Ballmer, last year wrote that Torre’s reporting was a “vitriolic public campaign against Mr. Ballmer” and “principally based on anonymized gossip,’’ according to ESPN. Later in the year, in a statement sent to Torre’s show on behalf of Ballmer and the Clippers read, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”

Aspiration was the primary company named in the investigation that held Ballmer responsible for circumventing the salary cap – largely it appears to have secured Leonard's services after he led the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title in 2019.

“How desperate was Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in American sports, one of the richest people on the planet to get a superstar that would allow him to compete as owner of the Clippers?’’ Torre asked on Wednesday. “And the answer is, look at what he was doing.’’

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pablo Torre says 'more to come' after NBA crackdown on Clippers

The Warriors’ search for another star alongside Stephen Curry has produced a growing collection of almosts.

The latest name to add to the list is Jaren Jackson Jr.

ESPN’s Anthony Slater revealed Golden State explored acquiring the former Defensive Player of the Year before Memphis traded him to Utah at February’s deadline.

“I’ll give you one that is probably talked about least in the last few years of swings and misses: it’s Jaren Jackson at the deadline,” Slater said. “They were kind of sniffing around that.”

Those talks were ultimately tabled as Golden State turned its attention toward a much bigger prize: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Utah swooped in and acquired Jackson for a package featuring three first-round picks.

That sequence looks more painful in hindsight.

After Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending torn ACL in January, Golden State began looking beyond simply patching its roster. General manager Mike Dunleavy acknowledged that the injury had moved the “goalposts,” and the Warriors began pursuing players who could help extend Curry’s dwindling championship window.

Jackson was one option. Antetokounmpo quickly became the obsession.

---

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The Warriors reportedly offered a package built around Draymond Green, Kuminga, four first-round picks and a swap, but Milwaukee never engaged enough to get a deal across the finish line. Golden State eventually pivoted to Kristaps Porzingis, sending Kuminga and Hield to Atlanta. The failed Giannis pursuit even put Green’s Warriors future in jeopardy.

Golden State also checked on Kawhi Leonard around the deadline when it appeared the Clippers might consider major changes. Nothing materialized.

Then came the summer.

The Warriors had been plotting possible pursuits of both Antetokounmpo and LeBron James almost immediately after Butler went down. Antetokounmpo eventually landed in Miami, while Golden State made a serious push for James before he chose Philadelphia.

The Warriors also explored pairing James with Anthony Davis, although those discussions never gained traction with Washington. The Wizards reportedly weren’t interested in moving Davis. Golden State additionally discussed Jaylen Brown but never reached organizational consensus on paying Boston’s asking price.

Taken individually, each miss is understandable.

Together, they tell a different story.

Since Butler’s injury, Golden State has explored Jackson, Antetokounmpo, Leonard, Brown, Davis and James while searching for another centerpiece around Curry.

The San Antonio Spurs have officially announced DAZN as their exclusive media rights partner for the 2026-2027 season. Last month, DAZN announced deals with several other NBA teams, filling the gap that regional sports networks left behind after closing up shop. A deal with San Antonio was strongly suggested but was not official until now.

In a deal similar to that of the Indiana Pacers, DAZN will be the exclusive provider of all Spurs games not exclusive to national television. The games will be streamed on the DAZN app, which is available on a multitude of devices and will offer simultaneous multi-device streaming.

In addition to the games, the app will offer pre- and post-game shows, highlights, behind-the-scenes insights, and original programming.

The Spurs will oversee and manage the production of the games, Spurs Sports & Entertainment tells Pounding the Rock.

As far as availability, the app will serve those in South, Central, and West Texas. Once signed up, they will be able to use the app and stream games while traveling. For those fans residing out-of-market, NBA League Pass will still be the provider.

As expected, 22 games will be broadcast over-the-air from a local provider, yet to be announced.

In addition to Spurs games, DAZN will also offer select Spurs Sports & Entertainment content including San Antonio FC matches and Austin Spurs G League games.

The cost

This is all great, but how much will it cost? A Season Pass is available at $119.99/year. Month-to-month starts at $19.99. DAZN will also be offering an “Ultimate Tier” priced at $139.99/year or $24.99/month, which will include incremental benefits, several of which will include a one-time discount code good for 25 percent off at the Spurs Fan Shop, access to alternate feeds and camera angles, and multi-view capabilities.

As far as discounts go, a free seven-day trial will be available; season ticket holders will be given 20 percent off the Season Pass price, and fans who become “Official Spurs Fan Club members” by September 9 are eligible for an exclusive subscription discount, yet to be disclosed. Additional discounts and promotions will be offered throughout the season.

The service will be available within the coming weeks. Fans can sign up here to receive updates directly from DAZN.

What was the final cost for the Los Angeles Clippers acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in 2019?

Just as the organization had finally paid off their significant draft pick haul of five first rounders, two pick swaps and future two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Oklahoma City to secure Leonard's running mate from seven years ago, the NBA dropped the hammer on the Clippers.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz's independent investigation concluded that the Clippers violated the league's salary cap circumvention rules by facilitating side deals between Leonard and four companies: Aspiration, Daktronics, Boingo Wireless and Lockton Insurance and offering them business from the team in exchange for entering into agreements with Leonard.

Among the several sanctions announced by the league against the team, owner Steve Ballmer and other high-ranking front office members, the Clippers are being stripped of five-first round draft picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.

Fines of $30 million for the team and $700,000 for Leonard were also levied while Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker received one-year suspensions; president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was also suspended for six months without pay. Additionally, the Clippers must enter into a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office over the next five years.

"The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans. I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct," commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."

Where do the Clippers go from here?

Clippers future after NBA punishes team, Kawhi Leonard

First, the Toronto Raptors need to decide whether they want to go through with the previously agreed upon trade for Leonard. That deal was paused until the conclusion of the investigation. Now, with the superstar at the center of the scandal emerging relatively unscathed, that essentially clears the way for the trade to move forward. Assuming the deal gets done, LA gets back Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and two unprotected first-round picks, two second rounders and a first-round pick swap in 2027.

Because of this trade and the deal they made to acquire James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2023, the Clippers still have some draft capital. They will own one first rounder in 2031 and 2033 after that deal and forfeit the lone picks they had in 2030 and 2032. They will also lose either the unprotected pick they got from the Indiana Pacers in the Ivica Zubac trade or the top-three protected pick swap with the Sixers in 2029.

But even with that, the future in Inglewood looks about as muggy as the unusual humidity that's bogged down the city for much of the summer.

Before his suspension, Lawrence Frank was adamant that although the Clippers are no longer contenders, he does expect them to stay competitive. The roster reflects that gray area. Darius Garland arrived in February as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers' return package for James Harden. Bradley Beal joined the team after getting bought out by the Phoenix Suns and expected to be part of a three-headed monster alongside Leonard and Harden before fracturing his hip just six games into the 2025-26 season. He returns after agreeing to a new two-year $13.27 million contract not to be a third star, but now as a veteran presence in a locker room that got a lot younger.

Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick in June, stands as the Clippers' biggest roster addition this offseason. Instead of a major splash like we've seen Ballmer's teams make in recent years, the team pursued moves along the margins such as bringing in Rui Hachimura, Brook Lopez and Max Strus in free agency. Vets Nicolas Batum, Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins all walked.

But it's not like the Clippers have the flexibility to make any big moves happen right now. Once the Leonard trade goes through, roughly half of their cap space this season will be tied up in two players, Garland and Ingram, who are set to make over $82 million combined this season according to Spotrac. They might be able to swing a trade, but that seems unlikely this year without their top basketball ops executive or any tradeable draft assets. Ingram is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

They don't even have flexibility for moves in the long-term, either. Frank said it himself months ago.

"There’s not much left in the piggy bank prior to this trade in terms of premium picks," He told The Athletic at the trade deadline. "We’ve kind of gone all in, all in, all in. We’ve made a bunch of trades to kind of please today’s team. … OK, how are we gonna bridge this era to the next era? And with it is, guys who are part of the team now can also be part of the next era.

"But if everyone is part of the team, there’s a cliff. And … it could take years, years to get out of it."

Now, it could take even longer than that.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What does severe NBA Kawhi punishment mean for Clippers future?

Fines, suspensions, forfeited picks and temporary league banishment.

Those were the consequences the NBA came down with following their investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers for salary cap circumvention tactics with their superstar Kawhi Leonard.

The hammer came down hard on the Clippers, Leonard and those found to be involved with the investigation.

The league said it "found a pattern of misconduct" regarding salary cap circumvention leading to "significant rules violations contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)."

The NBA handed down penalties that included a $30 million fine to the Clippers and a $700,000 fine to Leonard. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for a year, Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended for a year without pay and Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended for six months without pay.

The team lost five years worth of draft picks. Additionally, the Clippers will be monitored by the league for the next five years. Leonard's uncle, Dennis Robertson, is banned from doing business with anything or anyone NBA-related for five years.

The Clippers, once again, are the laughing stock of Los Angeles. Here are the winners and losers that come from this investigation:

WINNERS

Journalism

On behalf of journalists, shout out to Pablo Torre, who was the first one to break the news, now proven true.

Over the previous 11 months, Torre proved to all doubters that journalism, especially investigative journalism, is far from a dying demand. And despite naysayers who tried to attack his credibility as a journalist, he stuck to his guns, and the facts.

Amid content creators, internet personalities and media opportunists looking for their next chance to become a viral sensation, Torre proved that actual research and fact-checking is still the way to get clicks.

The Clippers messed around, Torre found out.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard is one of the biggest winners throughout all of this because he seemingly gets to pocket the millions of dollars that was wired to him for his "sponsorship duties."

His name and reputation comes out completely unscathed. No one looks at Leonard as unethical. He doesn't view himself that way. Leonard, in a social media post, denied any wrongdoing, but accepted responsibility.

"Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses and judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family," Leonard wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. "I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question and good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations, and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap."

Regardless, he still walks away with $28 million from the alleged sponsorship deal. He might have had to cough up $700,000 back to the league, but what's $700,000 to $28 million? Accept responsibility (because that's just good for PR), pay the little fine and go on with your life.

Board man got paid.

Toronto Raptors

Amid all the drama, the Toronto Raptors come out on top.

They traded for Leonard in June 2026, sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 and a 2027 first-round swap to the Clippers.

"For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with," Leonard said in his social media post. "As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate."

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the trade is "on track."

"There's full expectation that this trade will be going down, as is," Charania wrote on X. "The trade is on track and both sides can move forward on this."

Leonard will join a team that includes a supporting cast of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. USA TODAY Sports gave the Raptors-Clippers trade an A- grade, as they position themselves to be a dark horse in the Eastern Conference title.

Clippers trades

It seems like a gut-punching blow for the Clippers following the investigation. It is.

The only win from this when you look at it, beyond the distractions, is that they won't completely lose all their draft picks for the foreseeable future.

The Clippers still have one first rounder in three of the five impacted years due to the trades they made, including with Toronto to send Leonard to the Raptors.

The Clippers have a first-round pick swap in 2027 and unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033.

That's the only positive takeaway from this debacle. Yes, they also get Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to join a roster that has Darius Garland. But how good will the team even be?

Adam Silver

The NBA commissioner made a statement with the punishment. He sent a message throughout the league to other owners, players, agents, business partners, etc. You break the rules, there will be a price to pay. Literally, and figuratively.

LOSERS

Clippers organization

Once again, the Clippers prove to the league and the Los Angeles region, that they are the sporting joke of the town. Ballmer's suspended and his team was fined $30 million. Presidents of basketball and business operations, Frank and Zucker, were suspended for six months and a year, respectively, both without pay.

The Clippers lose picks and a superstar. There's a real world where the team could contend with the Sacramento Kings for worst team in the Pacific Division this year.

Uncle Dennis

Dennis Robertson, Leonard's uncle and former business manager, was not only fired amid the reports, but following the NBA's ruling he has been banned from "conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee, or other league or team personnel," the league said in a statement.

Robertson cannot associate with anyone or anything NBA, business-related for a period of five years.

Robertson violated the circumvention rules, on his nephew's behalf, by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses, the league said.

Maneuvers he tried in 2019 with the Lakers when Leonard was a free agent pursuing the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Lakers' then-owner Jeanie Buss didn't go for it.

Anyone and everyone who discredited Torre's Pulitzer Prize-winning work

All of those who were quick to discredit the reporting and findings from Torre's podcast, this section is for you, whether that's Mark Cuban, Steve Ballmer or ESPN personalities. Just loud and wrong. The apology should be just as loud.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA penalizes Clippers, Kawhi Leonard: Winners and losers from investigation

When it comes to salary cap subterfuge, as it does with practically all white-collar shenanigans, it pays to insulate.

This is why the NBA flattened the Los Angeles Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer and various other key figures in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention scheme with crushing penalties.

It’s also why Leonard, the player who seemingly pocketed millions of dollars from those deals, is walking away mostly unscathed.

Did Leonard get off light? In short: yes, he did.

Leonard was fined $700,000 and can seemingly continue his career without interruption. There was no mention of the millions that landed via direct deposits through these dubious endorsements.

Yet, the issue, as outlined in a report published by New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, is a little more complicated. Essentially, the deeply flawed structure for discipline in this case allowed for Leonard to get a slap on the wrist. The burden skewed heavily toward the franchise, which therefore somewhat absolved the player.

Put another way: this case set a precedent where a player (or his representatives) can ask for the moon and the sky and the stars — the only real infraction is if the team does not report it, particularly if the organization are repeat offenders. The issue here for the NBA, and for the general optics of the situation, is that these penalties are set with the National Basketball Players Association in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, limiting the scope and severity of the NBA’s ability to sanction Leonard.

Yet, the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver stopped short of exercising his full authority, granted under Article XIII of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which grants him the ability to void Leonard’s contract in the case of salary cap circumvention.

Compare Leonard’s discipline to the onslaught facing the Clippers:

• The forfeiture of five first-round picks
• A $30 million fine
• A year-long suspension of the team owner from all league activities
• A year-long suspension without pay of the team’s president of business operations
• A six-month suspension without pay of the team’s president of basketball operations
• A five-year compliance and monitoring program

The NBA clearly wanted to make an example of Ballmer’s Clippers, who were also fined $250,000 in August 2015 for “violating NBA rules prohibiting teams from offering players unauthorized business or investment opportunities” in their pursuit of then-free agent center DeAndre Jordan.

But Leonard is no ordinary player. And the Clippers had languished in Los Angeles, under the massive shadow of the crosstown Lakers. The two teams even played in the same venue for 25 seasons.

The prospect of landing a franchise-altering player like Leonard — the pressure to claw from irrelevance — is massive and unforgiving. So when a player exercises undue leverage to finagle shady dealings the way Leonard did, it creates an environment that allows for (if not encourages) smaller market and less popular teams to bend the rules when a player makes those asks.

This is not to condone the Clippers; it’s to propose that the penalty to Leonard and future players match in kind.

“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am,” Leonard said Wednesday in a statement released through his agent. “I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.

“I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone's part to circumvent the salary cap.”

By limiting Leonard’s suspension to just a fine, the NBA seemingly avoided a battle with the players’ union, which likely would have argued that voiding Leonard’s contract would be a step too far, given that his trade to the Raptors is expected to be finalized soon. To be sure, voiding Leonard’s contract, which is in its final season, would create other headaches and ripple effects for the league to contend with — not to mention that it would represent a drastic measure against a player, one not seen since 2000, when former commissioner David Stern voided Joe Smith’s under-market deal after it was revealed he and the Timberwolves had entered an illegal secret agreement.

But then again, this is an unprecedented case, and the millions of dollars from the alleged no-show endorsement deals had to be going somewhere.

While $700,000 is life-changing money for most American households, it represents a fraction of Leonard’s $50.3 million salary for this upcoming season.

In fact, the fine represents just 1.4% of his pay this year and a staggeringly low 0.46% of the total value of his $149.5 million maximum extension signed in January 2024.

Granted, Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle, was banned from doing any NBA business for five years, essentially becoming the latest fall guy.

But all of this prompts one massive question: where did all those millions of dollars from the no-show endorsement deals go?

A $700,000 fine doesn’t come close to answering that.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did Kawhi Leonard get off light in the NBA's Clippers crackdown? | Opinion

Ideally, you don’t want an ownership change to come right in the middle of a restructuring of a front office and franchise philosophy. It tends to cause some issues.

The Lakers find themselves in an awkward position. The Dodgerizing of the front office was well underway when Mark Walter abruptly sold the team to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner.

While it has remained status quo with the hirings already made, whether those hirings continue will be one of the bigger questions. Dan Woike of The Athleticrecently provided some insight into how things are operating in the front office.

As he reported, the team hasn’t frozen all hirings as they posted a position for a video producer. However, the bigger roles are where things are less clear.

But other sources, including high-ranking ones, have acknowledged that high-end positions, particularly in basketball operations, aren’t actively being filled. While some people in the organization push back on the notion that the Lakers are in a “hiring freeze,” multiple sources acknowledged that it would be foolish for the organization to make hires of consequence while in this strange moment of its history.

On one hand, this is how things happen in any industry when there’s a new owner in charge. But at the same time, the Lakers, as noted, were in the middle of reshaping things and now are left in a weird limbo for the next few months.

Part of the uncertainty also stems from the fact that no one knows what the new owners’ philosophy will be. With Walter, he at least had a track record with the Dodgers that fans and the Lakers themselves could look at and set an expectation for what was in store.

Iger and Kushner have never done this before. Will they want to continue building out the front office? Will they want to cut costs like Tom Dundon in Portland?

All that leaves the Lakers in an awkward place, halfway through a rebuild but not fully there with no clue if there will be an end in sight.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

In a decision we’ve been waiting nearly a year to hear, the NBA has finally ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers circumvention investigation. The case was originally uncovered by Pablo Torre and centered on Kawhi Leonard and Aspiration, a company that allegedly paid Leonard to serve as an ambassador while potentially functioning as a mechanism to provide him additional compensation outside of his Clippers contract.

The decision came down today. And the penalty was significant.

Per ESPN’s Shams Charania:

“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

Further details, per Charania:

“The Clippers shall forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.

Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year for being primarily and directly culpable for the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators.

Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months for his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Mr. Leonard and his family.

The Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.”

Let me start by saying holy shit. This is one of those events you will certainly remember for years to come, and if you support Clippers blue and red, you are devastated. I don’t envy anyone involved, from the fanbase to the front office, from The Wall to Ballmer’s crapper stall. This is a story of greed, rule-bending, deception, and corruption. It’s a black eye for the NBA and a death sentence in the City of Angels.

The Clippers are no longer a viable threat for more than half a decade moving forward. They’ve been stripped of assets and significantly limited in how they can operate. And for what? For a player who could help sell tickets and help usher in a new arena in Inglewood? For a team that still never made it out of the Western Conference, with its best chance coming in 2021 before the Phoenix Suns ended it? As if giving up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t a big enough kick in the gonads, they did all of this and won 23 playoff games in 7 seasons.

The tally for the Clippers getting Kawhi is now 10 first-round picks, two-swaps and SGA https://t.co/qi7S4XLNfA

— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) September 2, 2026

And hey, as Kellan Olson noted, the Suns no longer have the worst situation in the NBA.

Suns no longer have the worst draft pick situation in the league

— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) September 2, 2026

As Carl Spacker once uttered, “So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice”.

The saga is over, and personally? I’m pleased with the result. Because it showcases accountability, something I wasn’t convinced we would fully see when this decision eventually came down. After all, Steve Ballmer is the richest owner in the NBA, and there was always the possibility that the league would hand down what amounted to a slap on the wrist for circumventing the cap. I’m no lawyer. This isn’t a court of law, it’s a court of opinion. But based on everything Pablo Torre reported, it certainly appeared there was enough evidence to suggest that something wasn’t right and that the spirit of the rules had been violated in Los Angeles. And now, apparently, that has been validated.

Again, that’s something I wasn’t convinced would happen. We live in a time where circumvention, lack of accountability, and corruption seem to run rampant in plenty of corners of the world. Apparently, you don’t need approval from Congress if you don’t call it a war, even when every opportunity is taken to call it a war, know what I mean? A lack of accountability compromises integrity, and that’s not only frustrating but also exhausting. Because so many people try to do things the right way. And when those who don’t are allowed to skate by without consequences, it wears on you.

That’s what I was worried about here. But it didn’t happen. It was nice for the system to work, at least from my narrow-viewed, uninformed perspective. It looks and feels like justice to me. If you try to cheat, you will get burned, as well you should. It’s a reminder that rules exist for a reason. Playing by them has value. It has merit. It has integrity.

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re not wrong. Who am I to step up on a pedestal and start spouting off about cap circumvention and integrity in the NBA? Maybe that’s fair. But I’ll tell you what I am. I’m a fan who watches this sport. I’m someone who believes in fair play, and I’m someone who wants to know that everyone is operating on an even playing field. From there, teams can make their mistakes. Trust me, as a Phoenix Suns fan, I know plenty about mistakes. The difference is that those mistakes were self-inflicted. They weren’t made by trying to cheat the system.

Of course, the parties involved lack some of that accountability. In a statement from Kawhi Leonard:

“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.  

I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.  

For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”

You may wonder where the accountability is for Leonard, considering $700,000 is essentially a rounding error to him and he won’t miss a single game. The decision was made by the team and the owner, not the player, although Leonard’s hands were certainly not clean in all of this. He is the one who cashed the checks.

The real punishment for Kawhi is that this is a legacy tarnisher. We probably won’t see the full implications of this today. Leonard will play basketball, collect his money, and eventually move on to the next season. But this story is going to follow him. Years from now, when people talk about Kawhi Leonard and his career, this will be part of the conversation. It will be referenced when his legacy is discussed. Father Time has a funny way of stripping away the noise and leaving behind the things that mattered. Trust me, he is going to look poorly upon Leonard’s role in this story.

And then there’s the Clippers themselves:

“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence. What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s fairness and accuracy.  

For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence.  

We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”

What else would you expect them to say? Challenge it all you want, but the NBA doesn’t have an appeals process for this. The league made its decision, handed down the penalty, and that’s where it ends. There isn’t another door to knock on.

It’s a complex process, a complex investigation, and one that took nearly a year to complete. Perhaps it was a witch hunt. Perhaps the Clippers were presumed guilty rather than innocent. Those arguments will exist. But the fact remains that when you put yourself in bad situations, bad things can happen. And without a doubt, that is what occurred with the Clippers.

As a fan of the sport, I’m pleased that perceived accountability ultimately won out. We finally have an example where you can’t simply throw money and lawyers at a situation, circumvent the rules, and walk away scot free. You cheated. And this time, there were consequences.

That’s ultimately what matters here. Not whether the Clippers agree with the findings, or whether Ballmer can afford the $30 million. Umm…he can. The NBA investigated, reached a conclusion, and handed down consequences with actual teeth. Five first-round picks are gone. Executives are suspended. The franchise will carry this with it for years. Rules only matter when breaking them costs you something. The Clippers found out exactly what that cost looks like.