NBA rocked by $43m scandal over superstar’s dodgy deal
The Los Angeles Clippers have been fined almost $42 million (USD$30m) and star player Kawhi Leonard was hit with a $976,000 penalty by the NBA for violating salary cap circumvention rules.
The league came down hard on the organisation after a nearly year-long investigation.
NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard. nna\cdesilva
Owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended for one year, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended without pay for six months and president of business operations Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year, all for their involvement.
The Clippers have also been stripped of five first-round draft picks.
The investigation had been into Leonard’s multi-million dollar deal with defunct company Aspiration.
According to The Athletic, federal authority the securities and exchange commission (SEC) is also now investigating Daktronics over the company’s relationship with Leonard.
Daktronics is a company that makes scoreboards. It built the $140 million video board at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome. The company allegedly paid Leonard millions of dollars to represent them but the basketball star did no visible work for the money.
Leonard, 35, released a statement on Thursday morning through his management company.
“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,” he wrote.
"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.”
The Clippers are fuming over the outcome of the probe and released a fiery statement of their own.
“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,” the club said.
“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.”
The 2026-27 NBA season begins in October.
