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. The team will forfeit five first-round draft picks, one in each year starting in 2029, according to CNBC and CNBC World.

The penalties were imposed after an investigation found that the Clippers had circumvented salary cap rules by facilitating sponsorship agreements between outside companies and star player Kawhi Leonard.

Kawhi Leonard was not suspended, but was required to pay a $700,000 fine for his part in circumventing the salary cap, as reported by Yahoo Sports. The NBA's investigation, conducted by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, concluded without voiding Leonard's contract, clearing the way for his proposed return to the Toronto Raptors, according to CBC News.

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