The Los Angeles Clippers have declared their intention to vigorously contest the NBA's ruling that found the team in violation of salary cap circumvention rules related to the acquisition of superstar forward Kawhi Leonard. The league announced Tuesday that it has stripped the Clippers of five future first-round draft picks and levied a $30 million fine against the franchise.
The NBA's investigation concluded that the Clippers engaged in "initiating off-court income opportunities" for Leonard, which the league deemed a violation of its collective bargaining agreement. In response to the sanctions, the Clippers issued a strong statement expressing their outright rejection of 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," the statement read. "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."
The organization pledged full cooperation during the year-long investigation and stated its commitment to proving its innocence. "For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence," the statement continued. "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."
As part of the penalties, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker, and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank will face suspensions of varying durations. In contrast, Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000 and will not face a suspension, allowing him to continue playing.