Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has been fined $700,000 as part of a wide range of punishment handed by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to the Clippers, Leonard and other individuals associated to the Clippers.
The NBA ruled that the Clippers were guilty of circumventing their salary cap space with Leonard playing a role in it by pressuring the team to “obtaining off-court income opportunities [and] successfully obtaining those opportunities“.
As a result, the NBA punished the Clippers by forfeiting the team’s five future first round picks, banned team owner Steve Ballmer for a full year from all team activities and suspended Clippers President Gillian Zucker for a year. The team was also fined $30 million.
Two time NBA champion Leonard was hit with the largest in NBA history and in a post on Instagram, Leonard said,
“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.”
The Clippers have since stated that the punishment is a “witch hunt” and plan to appeal the ruling.
