NBA suspends Clippers owner Ballmer for one year in Kawhi Leonard salary cap probe

The NBA has suspended Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year and fined the team $30 million after finding they had circumvented salary cap rules. The team will forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each year starting in 2029, according to CNBC and Bloomberg.

The investigation found that the Clippers had facilitated sponsorship agreements between outside companies and star player Kawhi Leonard. As a result, Leonard was required to pay a $700,000 fine, but was not suspended, Yahoo Sports reported.

The sanctions, which also included penalties for team executives Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank, did not impact Leonard's playing status, clearing the way for his proposed return to the Toronto Raptors, CBC News reported.

Brief written by urgent.news from CNBC World, Bloomberg, CNBC, CBC News, Yahoo Sports — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.