Clippers lose five first-round picks, fined $30M

The NBA on Wednesday announced punishments for the LA Clippers for violating salary cap circumvention rules when it signed star Kawhi Leonard, the league announced.

In a statement, the NBA said a monthslong investigation "found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules."

The punishments, as announced by the league, include:

• The Clippers must forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033.

• The Clippers are fined $30 million.

• Owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year.

• President of business operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for one year.

• President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months

All penalties are binding, the league and the players' union said.

"The NBA's collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans," commissioner Adam Silver said. "I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers' institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."