The NBA levied massive punishments on the Los Angeles Clippers organization on Wednesday, following an investigation that found the franchise in violation of salary cap circumvention rules involving the signing of superstar Kawhi Leonard. The punishments announced included the loss of five first-round draft picks as well as a $30 million fine and yearlong suspension for team owner Steve Ballmer. Leonard will have to pay $700,000 in restitution, but received no contract void or suspension.
These rulings are final, as there's no formal appeal or arbitration process available for the Clippers. The only way they could fight these rulings would be to go through court, according to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania. The Clippers "vehemently" deny the NBA's findings, making their stance clear in a public statement.
The organization said it plans to "vigorously challenge" the findings: "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 its 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."
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