The investigation into the Clippers’ salary cap violations has concluded, and the penalties have been handed down. And as far as NBA commissioner Adam Silver is concerned, the case is over.
It’s time to move on.
In his first comments since the NBA punished the Clippers on Sept. 2 for circumventing the salary cap, Silver said “the discipline is final.”
Speaking at the conclusion of the NBA Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday, Silver said he didn’t anticipate any future sanctions stemming from three separate endorsement deals the team secured for All-Star Kawhi Leonard.
After a yearlong investigation, the league fined the team $30 million, forced it to forfeit five first-round draft picks, suspended owner Steve Ballmer and President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker for a year and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank for six months.
The NBA also fined Leonard $700,000, but did not void or suspend the seven-time All-Star, who was traded to the Toronto Raptors, a deal that was finally completed on Monday.
Silver said he met with Leonard recently but did not want to go into negotiations with the National Basketball Players Association about how the NBA reached the deal that cost Leonard a small fraction of his salary.
“I think we all agree it’s time to move forward,” Silver said. “(Leonard’s agent) David Kelly represented his player well.”
Silver was encouraged by Ballmer’s decision not to pursue legal action – the owner’s initial reaction – and to accept responsibility for his involvement in circumventing the salary cap rules. The commissioner indicated he would be speaking to Ballmer in the future about a possible reinstatement.
“I’d say putting aside the precise words he chose to use, and most importantly, he indicated a willingness to accept the league’s decision in this case and the accompanying sanctions,” Silver said. “So, that initially was what I was most focused on, which is markedly different from the initial statements that came out of his organization.
“Our plan is to move forward, and we have every reason to believe that at the end of the year period, he will return to be an owner in good standing,” Silver said. He did not clarify whether that would be the end of 2026 or the season’s end.
While the loss of five first-round picks could hurt the Clippers going forward, Silver didn’t think the league’s ruling has done “permanent damage to this franchise.
“There’s no question this is a setback for the team,” he added. “But as I said, the ultimate goal in terms of these types of sanctions is to ensure that other teams don’t engage in this type of behavior in the future.
“So, there has to be something beyond suspensions and financial consequences and that has to go directly to competition.”