Clippers owner Steve Ballmer suspended one year as NBA reveals what he did for Kawhi Leonard
The NBA said Ballmer knowingly helped Leonard obtain off-court income
Steve Ballmer has never behaved like a distant owner. He sits near the court, jumps from his seat, pumps his fists and celebrates Clippers baskets with the emotion of a lifelong fan. He built Intuit Dome to give the franchise a home of its own. Now, the NBA has ordered the most visible man in the building to step away from all league and team activities for an entire year.
The league announced the punishment Wednesday after an independent investigation found that Ballmer knowingly sought to help Kawhi Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities.
According to the NBA’s findings, Ballmer also approved a business agreement that he knew was necessary for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement deal with Leonard and failed to establish conditions that ensured the Clippers followed salary-cap circumvention rules.
The consequences will remain long after Ballmer returns
Ballmer’s suspension is only part of a historic punishment. The Clippers were fined $30 million and must surrender one first-round Draft pick in each year from 2029 through 2033. Business operations president Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for one year, while basketball operations president Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension.
The organization will also operate under an NBA compliance and monitoring program for five years.
Leonard was ordered to pay the league $700,000, while his former business manager, Dennis Robertson, was banned from conducting business with NBA teams for five years. The investigation concluded that the Clippers initiated and facilitated endorsement opportunities for Leonard with Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance, all companies that conducted business with the franchise.
The most controversial arrangement was Leonard’s reported four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt Aspiration. Leonard was accused of performing little or no visible work under the agreement.
He said after the ruling that he entered the deals in good faith and did not know about any attempt to circumvent the salary cap. The Clippers and Ballmer had also denied wrongdoing when the allegations first surfaced.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver described the case as involving “flagrant violations” and serious leadership failures. The announced penalties are final and binding under an agreement between the NBA and the players’ union, although investigators continue to receive information and the league has left open the possibility of further action.
Ballmer will eventually return, but the cost of the decisions made during the Kawhi Leonard era will follow the Clippers through at least 2033.
