Pacers assistant GM Ted Wu says his experience working in the NBA league office gives him confidence in the investigation that led to major Clippers penalties.
Ted Wu worked in the NBA league office before the Indiana Pacers hired him in December 2020. Asked Thursday at a Pacers Foundation golf event about the league's penalties against the LA Clippers, the Pacers assistant general manager said that background leads him to trust the investigation.
The NBA announced on Sept. 2 that the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard had violated the salary cap circumvention rules in the collective bargaining agreement. The findings came from an investigation by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
The Clippers must forfeit first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033. The 2029 selection is the unprotected Pacers pick Indiana sent to Los Angeles in the February trade for Ivica Zubac. It does not return to Indiana.
The league fined the Clippers $30 million and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year. Gillian Zucker, the team's president of business operations, was suspended for one year without pay, and Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, for six months without pay. Leonard was fined $700,000. His uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, was banned from NBA business for five years.
Ted Wu Trusts NBA's Investigation
Wu said the Pacers only know so much from the outside.
"It was a saga. There was a lot going on," Wu said. "I think in our situation, we only know so much. We're limited. We know how we operate as an organization, what the rules are, how to handle some of these. It was very interesting to follow. I'm a former league office employee. I know how much work they put into an investigation like that. So you trust that the work that they did comes out with the right kind of result. But hopefully we can put that aside and we can focus on the basketball that's on the court, 'cause that's what we're most excited about."
At the league office, Wu was part of the salary cap management group and worked on the negotiations that produced the 2017 CBA.
NBA Investigation Began After Kawhi Leonard Report
The investigation began in September 2025 after a report by podcast host Pablo Torre on a $28 million endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration, a company that later went bankrupt. It expanded to deals with Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance. According to the league, the Clippers initiated off-court income opportunities between Leonard and all four companies, which did business with the team.
The NBA called the Clippers a prior offender of the circumvention rules. The league and the players' union agreed that the penalties are final and binding. The Clippers disputed the findings and said they would challenge them.
Leonard said in a statement that he accepted full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people in his inner circle.
Clippers Penalty Has Historical Precedent
In 2000, the league took five first-round picks from the Minnesota Timberwolves over a secret agreement with Joe Smith. It also fined Minnesota $3.5 million and suspended Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale for a season.
Pacers Lose 2029 First-Round Pick in Clippers Penalty
Wu said separately Thursday that once the Pacers traded the 2029 pick, what happened to it was out of their control. Indiana's 2026 first-rounder, also part of the deal, landed at No. 5 and became Illinois guard Keaton Wagler.
Pacers media day is Monday.
