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The scandal that has rocked the NBA for nearly a full year was finally resolved today, and it came with some harsh punishments for the parties involved. The investigation, which began last September, sought to uncover a potential cap-circumvention scheme that helped Leonard earn millions in shady side deals disguised as secret, no-show endorsement contracts. The Clippers have claimed their innocence the entire time, but evidence was mounting against them between witness testimonies and a direct link in the form of a paper trail. Now, the NBA has officially come to a ruling, ordering the Clippers to pay $30 million and surrender five future first-round picks. “The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after a yearlong probe — stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker,” reported Shams Charania on X. “Kawhi Leonard will have to pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits by the Clippers for his uncle and former business rep, Dennis Robertson. No contract void or suspension for Leonard. And Robertson — who was fired by Leonard in June — is being banned by the NBA from all business dealings.” The arrangement that first raised suspicions was Kawhi Leonard’s Aspiration contract. The fraudulent tree-planting company, which was being bankrolled by Ballmer himself, was going out of its way to honor an exclusive endorsement deal with Leonard. This was despite the fact that Kawhi never once marketed the brand, which was already struggling financially. Later, it was revealed that Leonard had a similar arrangement with Daktronics, the Clippers’ scoreboard maker. While we may never know the extent of the scheme, the NBA found enough to convict the Clippers, and now they have to pay. Besides a hefty $30 million fine, their future has been handicapped with the loss of significant draft capital (they lose first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts). Even majority owner Steve Ballmer got singled out, with a year-long suspension from all team and league activities. “Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules,” Shams added. “The Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.” Ballmer was surely complicit in the scheme, but he wasn’t the only executive involved. The NBA also suspended Clippers Presidents Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank for one year and six months, respectively. Leonard, meanwhile, is cleared to join the Raptors, but he’s on the hook for $700K while his agent, Dennis Robertson, has been banned from engaging with teams altogether. In the end, the NBA has made a statement with this ruling. Despite the weak and loose reputation the Adam Silver regime has been known for, he did not take it easy on the Clippers in this case. With all the evidence pointing to intentional deception, he took the opportunity to make an example of the Clippers and show the rest of the league what happens when you skirt the salary cap rules. Going forward, it will take years for the Clippers to recover from this damage, and we have to wonder if it was worth it. To go to such great lengths to sign Kawhi, only to still not win a championship, is a brutal reality and arguably their biggest blemish yet in the Steve Ballmer era.