09/03/26
September 02, 2026
Clippers Lose 5 First-Round Picks for Cheating Salary Cap: The NBA has taken five first-round picks from the Los Angeles Clippers and $30 million, as well as suspending owner Steve Ballmer for one year, for circumventing the salary cap when signing Kawhi Leonard four years ago. The league found that Leonard was rewarded with over $28 million in side deals orchestrated by the team. Leonard also has to give back $700,000.
posted by rcade to basketball at 04:59 PM - 2 comments
Losing first-round draft picks is kind of a nice double-whammy. Not only does it make it difficult for them to add young talent, those things are incredibly valuable in the current trade market.
I don't know if this is "appropriate" or not since there isn't much of a precedent set, but yes, hooray for some real-ass consequences.
The article doesn't state this outright: Safe to assume this clears up any remaining obstacles in Kawhi's return to Toronto?
posted by Ufez Jones at 05:41 PM on September 02, 2026
Wow! OK. There are consequences. Good.