NBA levies astonishing penalty against Clippers over cap circumvention involving Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard

The NBA stripped five first-round draft picks from the Los Angeles Clippers, fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million and suspended key executives after a yearlong investigation found that the team circumvented salary-cap rules in connection with Kawhi Leonard.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Clippers will forfeit their first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, which absolutely guts their draft capital for the next decade.

It’s a punishment so severe that the NBA has rarely, if ever, dropped the hammer this hard.