The penalties reach deep into the front office: president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is banned for six months, and president of business operations Gillian Zucker is suspended for a year. Leonard himself was fined $700,000.
The Aspiration Scheme
The league's nearly year-long investigation, run by an outside law firm, centered on a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser, a company that went bankrupt last year and whose co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, was sentenced this year to 14 years in federal prison for defrauding investors of at least $248 million. The NBA opened the case in September 2025 after reporting by podcast journalist Pablo Torre.
The league found that Leonard, through his former business manager and uncle Dennis Robertson, "violated the circumvention rules 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." Ballmer, the NBA said, was suspended for "knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities," among other issues.
"A Predetermined Narrative"
The Clippers, who insisted throughout the investigation that they had done nothing wrong, rejected the findings outright. "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 team said, adding that what the league told them privately "differs from what it announced today publicly." The team says it will challenge the penalties "through every avenue available to us" in arbitration.
Leonard, in a statement through his new agent, accepted "full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle" while maintaining he signed his contracts "in good faith" and "with no knowledge of any intent on anyone's part to circumvent the salary cap."
Leonard Returns to Toronto
The ruling unblocks the move that had been frozen for months: Leonard's trade to the Toronto Raptors, on hold pending the investigation, can now proceed. The Raptors never wavered, and Leonard sounds ready to rejoin the team he led to the 2019 title as Finals MVP. "As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate," he said.
For the Clippers, the ledger is brutal either way the arbitration goes: an owner sidelined for a year, a decapitated front office, $30 million gone and half a decade of first-round picks erased, the heaviest draft penalty the league has ever imposed on a cap case.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What did the NBA punish the Clippers for?
- Circumventing the salary cap. The league found the team helped Kawhi Leonard obtain off-court income, centered on a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company whose co-founder was jailed for fraud.
- What are the penalties?
- Owner Steve Ballmer suspended one year; a $30 million fine; forfeiture of five first-round picks; Lawrence Frank banned six months; Gillian Zucker suspended one year; Leonard fined $700,000.
- Are the Clippers accepting the ruling?
- No. The team calls the investigation "heavily biased" and says it will challenge the findings and penalties in arbitration.
- What happens to Kawhi Leonard now?
- His trade to the Toronto Raptors, frozen during the investigation, can proceed. He won the 2019 title and Finals MVP with Toronto and says he is focused on "moving forward with a clean slate."
