The future and former Toronto Raptors forward has broken his silence.
The NBA announced on Wednesday that the LA Clippers have been punished for "violating the salary cap circumvention rules" through various setups with Kawhi Leonard.
"The NBA announced today that the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard have been penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)," the league wrote. "This determination was based upon information developed through an independent investigation conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz."
Here is a summary of the punishments:
1. Clippers will forfeit five first-round picks. One in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.
2. Clippers are fined $30 million.
3. Steve Ballmer will serve a one-year suspension.
4. Gillian Zucker will serve a one-year suspension.
5. Lawrence Frank will serve a 6-month suspension.
6. Kawhi Leonard will pay $700k to the NBA .
7. Leonard's uncle Dennis Robertson is banned from conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams.
Leonard released a statement on social media shortly after the announcement, saying the following:
"Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.
I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone's part to circumvent the salary cap.
For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate."
This closes the chapter on Leonard's failed—and now historically damaging—tenure in Los Angeles. He is set to return to Toronto where he led the Raptors to their first and only NBA championship in 2019. With his contract not being voided, that trade is set to go through, which was always the likeliest outcome.
The Clippers also released this statement:
"We vehemently reject the NBA's findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence. What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s fairness and accuracy.
For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence.
We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process."
For the Clippers, they now embark on a new area that just became significantly more challenging to navigate. And they leave behind the Leonard era that produced just three playoff series wins in seven years.
