# Silver closes book on Clippers salary cap scandal

> NBA commissioner says harsh penalties for Kawhi Leonard scheme are final, with no draft picks coming back.
- Title: Silver closes book on Clippers salary cap scandal | Shortify
- Summary: NBA commissioner says harsh penalties for Kawhi Leonard scheme are final, with no draft picks coming back. The Clippers will lose five first-round picks and…
- Keywords: adam silver, los angeles clippers, kawhi leonard, steve ballmer, nba, salary cap circumvention, draft picks, lawrence frank, gillian zucker, dennis robertson, toronto raptors, wachtell lipton
- Source: California Post — https://nypost.com/2026/09/15/sports/clippers-penalties-kawhi-leonard-scandal-final
- Published: 2026-09-15T22:34:24+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: adam silver, los angeles clippers, kawhi leonard, steve ballmer, nba, salary cap circumvention, draft picks, lawrence frank, gillian zucker, dennis robertson, toronto raptors, wachtell lipton
## No more penalties coming
Commissioner Adam Silver said the Clippers' punishments are final. He doesn't expect any further sanctions from the salary cap scandal.

> The discipline is final.
## What the Clippers did wrong
An independent investigation found the team violated salary cap rules by setting up off-court income for Kawhi Leonard with four companies that did business with the Clippers.
## The staggering punishments
The Clippers were fined $30 million and stripped of five first-round picks from 2029-33. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year.
## Leonard and his uncle pay
Kawhi Leonard paid $700,000 in restitution. His uncle Dennis Robertson, who was his business manager, is banned from NBA dealings for five years.
## Trade finally goes through
Leonard was traded back to Toronto on Monday. The deal was agreed to in late June but delayed because of the investigation.
## Timberwolves precedent cited
Silver said the league looked at when Minnesota lost five picks in 2000 for salary cap circumvention with Joe Smith. Minnesota eventually got two picks back.
## Fans pay the price too
Silver acknowledged the difficulty of punishing teams when fans suffer too. But he said competitive consequences are necessary to deter other teams from breaking rules.

> I don't think in any way we've done permanent damage to this franchise. No question, this is a setback for the team.
## Key takeaway

The Clippers will lose five first-round picks and pay $30 million for arranging off-court income for Kawhi Leonard through team business partners.