NBA ‘drops the hammer’ on Clippers for Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration deal
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor reacts to the NBA's punishment towards the Clippers & owner Steve Ballmer for circumventing the salary cap by setting up no-show endorsement deals with Aspiration — including stripping five first-round clips and a $30 million fine for Ballmer. Check out the full conversation on "The Kevin O'Connor Show" and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
We got breaking news, everybody.
We got the punishment for Kawhi Leonard.
We know what's gonna happen with him and Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers.
And boy, oh boy, did the NBA ever drop the hammer on the Los Angeles Clippers.
Five first round picks docked from the Clippers in 2029, 2030, '31, '32 and '33.
That means the Clippers are ineligible to trade any first round draft picks until 2035, actually, and those aren't even eligible to be traded yet.
A $30 million fine to team owner Steve Ballmer, and a one-year ban.
Suspensions for Ballmer and Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker as part of the Lakers front office.
Lawrence Frank, suspended their general manager for six months.
Kawhi Leonard, a $700,000 fine is what he receives.
His contract is not voided, which means the Clippers-Toronto Raptors trade could still happen.
I would imagine that is a increasing possibility, as we'll talk about later, that it will happen.
And then Dennis Robertson, the uncle of Kawhi Leonard, Uncle Dennis, is banned from all NBA business dealings for five years.
Boy, boy.
I mean, a- as you guys are joining in the live chat here as we react to this, it is hard to fathom that the NBA really dropped the hammer as hard as they did, but the evidence, as I'm sure we'll learn, was probably overwhelming.
We, we don't know the details quite yet exactly about what the NBA learned, but we know through Pablo Torre's reporting and The Athletic, among others, who have been on top of this for the past calendar year, there's a lot of smoke.
There's a lot of smoke with the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, and very clearly, I'm sure the NBA, through all of this, must have found something, a smoking gun, to take away five first round draft picks.
Five first, and a $30 million fine, and a one-year suspension for Steve Ballmer.
Pablo Torre, vindicated.
Indeed, he sure is.
