NBA cites Timberwolves precedent in imposing Clippers cap circumvention penalties

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league examined prior discipline before imposing five first-round draft picks, a $30 million fine, and a one-year ownership ban on Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for salary-cap circumvention, per Yahoo NBA. Silver specifically cited the Minnesota Timberwolves' five-pick penalty, which the league had assessed for a similar cap violation, as the precedent guiding the Clippers discipline. Silver spoke Tuesday at the end of a two-day Board of Governors meeting, where the penalties were finalized. The NBA found the Clippers circumvented league salary-cap rules by providing All-Star Kawhi Leonard millions of dollars in additional compensation through "no-show" endorsement deals, per Front Office Sports. Ballmer accepted the punishment without appealing, a decision that came amid a reported federal probe into the saga. Silver acknowledged the decision carried weight beyond the Clippers organization. According to Yahoo NBA, Silver noted that the punishment was difficult because of the impact it could have on the team's fans. The one-year ban means Ballmer cannot represent the Clippers at Board of Governors meetings. The team's alternate governor, Dennis Wong, was named in earlier reporting as an investor in Aspiration, the environmental start-up central to the original investigation, but Wong's name did not come up in the NBA's law firm report from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, per Front Office Sports.