Apr 5, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
In what many are calling the worst punishment in NBA history, the Clippers must forfeit five first-round picks and $30 million for their blatant violation of salary cap rules. By orchestrating secret, no-show endorsement deals between Kawhi and their own business partners, the Clippers effectively skirted the rules to give their guy extra benefits, and it has cost them everything.
While some expected Kawhi Leonard to get a similarly harsh punishment, the NBA only gave him a $700K fine while banning his former associate, Dennis Robertson, from any and all contact with teams. It may not be an ideal form of “justice,” but there’s actually a reason why the NBA decided to take it easy on the former Clippers star, and it may not be what you think.
“Kawhi Leonard, in all the evidence we assembled — and the NBA assembled — was given a slap on the wrist, by that evidentiary standard, but we realize why it happened. According to my reporting, this was a choice that the NBA made in order to take away from the proceedings one of the main options that Steve Ballmer had to make this whole story even messier for the league and his partners, which was arbitration,” said investigative journalist Pablo Torre. “By giving Kawhi Leonard a slap on the wrist, according to my reporting, the union and Kawhi both agreed to settle; and by settling, they removed arbitration as an option. And so, when Steve Ballmer is punished with this historic punishment, the only move he has is to not take the arbitration — which he mistakenly assumed he still had — but to actually take everybody to court and sue the NBA, the commissioner, Wachtell Lipton, me, and whoever he wants.”
On the surface, the league might have had enough evidence to give Kawhi a heavier fine or even issue a multi-game suspension. He does, after all, have a history of illegal requests, and it seems highly unlikely he was unaware of his backdoor arrangements with the Clippers. The problem is that a stricter fine for Leonard risked the potential involvement of the Players Association, which spoke on behalf of Leonard in this case.
Had the NBPA decided to fight or challenge the ruling, Adam Silver might have been forced to overturn some of the penalties. At the very least, it would have given Clippers owner Steve Ballmer a more direct way to fight back and demand a new investigation.
But with Kawhi already settled and focused on his future in Toronto, the NBPA has accepted the ruling, limiting what Ballmer can do in response. The only real way for him to drag this out is through the actual court system, but it’s doubtful the case would even be heard.
For Silver, this was all just part of the plan. As much as he wanted Leonard to pay for his schemes, it was really Ballmer and the Clippers he wanted to punish. They should have known better, but now they have learned the hard way after having their very future ripped out from under them.