NBA Commish drops the gavel on Clippers investigation, details damage to franchise
When it comes to the Clippers-Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention scandal, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes it’s time to move forward.At least for the NBA.Among the many things he made clear during his media availability Tuesday following the NBA’s Board of Governors meetings was this: He doesn’t expect for there to be any further sanctions stemming from the scandal. “The discipline is final,” Silver said during his first public comments since the league announced harsh punishments against the Clippers two weeks ago.The NBA, through an independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, found the Clippers violated the league’s salary cap circumvention rules by “initiating off-court income opportunities” for Leonard with four different companies that also did business with the team.The league dropped staggering punishments on the Clippers, fining the franchise $30 million, suspending owner/chairman Steve Ballmer for one year and stripping the franchise of five first-round draft picks from 2029-33.President of business operations Gillian Zucker (one year) and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank (six months) were also suspended for their roles in the scandal.But the initial report alluded to potential corroborating evidence, which left the door open for further punishment.That was put to bed on Tuesday.Ballmer said in a Sunday statement he has “sincere regrets” and apologized to fans, and acknowledged the franchise was complying with the penalties assessed by the league.Leonard was forced to pay the NBA $700,000 for restitution for improper benefits provided by the Clippers, while his uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, has been banned by the NBA from all business dealings for five years.Silver said he met with Leonard but didn’t want to get into the details of his conversations with the National Basketball Players Association that led to Leonard’s punishment. Leo...