NBA commissioner Adam Silver has described the league’s investigation into the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard as “closed” following a major punishment that saw owner Steve Ballmer suspended for a year.
The Clippers were fined $30 million and stripped of five first-round draft picks, while Leonard was fined $700,000 but avoided a suspension. The penalties followed allegations that the franchise circumvented the NBA’s salary cap.
Silver said the league’s board of governors had held extensive discussions about the responsibility of teams to follow the rules.
“I think everyone in the room understands that part of the core responsibility of the league is to have a set of rules that everyone agrees to operate under, and the league’s responsibility to enforce those rules,” Silver said.
“And that if those rules are found to be violated, there then will be appropriate consequences.”
Leonard trade finally completed
The Clippers and Ballmer are also facing a Department of Justice investigation, according to The New York Times.
Silver confirmed he had spoken with Leonard but declined to disclose details of their conversation. He said both parties had agreed to move forward.
Leonard’s long-delayed trade from the Clippers to the Toronto Raptors was completed on Monday, shortly after the NBA announced its penalties.
The punishment ranks among the most severe in league history and has been compared with the sanctions imposed on the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 for circumventing the salary cap in their signing of Joe Smith.
The Timberwolves were also stripped of five first-round picks, while owner Glen Taylor and executive Kevin McHale were suspended for a year. Commissioner David Stern later returned two of the picks.
Silver would not commit to offering the Clippers similar relief.
“Because while there have to be competitive consequences, our view, if these rules are violated, we still want to be a 30-team league,” he said.
“And we recognize that in some ways, we’re unfortunately punishing the fans of that team as well, and so that’s the balance we’re trying to seek.”
Silver rejects wider cap concerns
Silver insisted he did not believe the Clippers case indicated that salary-cap circumvention was widespread across the NBA.
He also rejected the idea that the league should launch broader investigations into player agreements involving team sponsors.
“I’ve been around the league for decades,” Silver said.
“I pick up chatter here and there when other things are happening around the league. I’ve had lots of conversations with general managers, team presidents, owners as to the kind of conduct that goes on.
“We know around the lines there’s been slippage over the years, but nothing of this nature that I’m aware of.”
Silver added that he did not believe the punishment had caused permanent damage to the Clippers, although he acknowledged that the franchise had suffered a significant setback.
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