The Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer have vowed to fight historic penalties imposed by the NBA after a year-long investigation concluded the team had circumvented salary cap rules. The league found that star forward Kawhi Leonard had agreed to a $28 million no-show contract with former team sponsor Aspiration, plus improper arrangements with three other companies, effectively paying him more than his on-court salary allowed under the collective bargaining agreement. The Clippers called the investigation "heavily biased" and pursuing a "predetermined narrative," and said they would challenge the findings through arbitration, though the NBA insists the penalties are final and binding.

The NBA's punishment includes stripping the Clippers of their first-round draft picks from 2029 to 2033, a one-year suspension and $30 million fine for Ballmer, and a $700,000 fine for Leonard, who was not suspended. Ballmer was specifically criticised for knowingly helping Leonard secure off-court income and failing to ensure his organisation followed cap-circumvention rules; the Clippers say he has already spent $50 million on legal costs during the investigation. Leonard, now a free agent likely bound for the Toronto Raptors, offered a more conciliatory response, accepting responsibility for "lapses in judgment" by people in his inner circle, including his uncle and former manager Dennis Robertson, who was tied to the Aspiration deal. It marks the second major scandal for the Clippers in just over a decade, following the 2014 lifetime ban of former owner Donald Sterling.