NBA fines LA Clippers $30m over Kawhi Leonard salary-cap violations

The NBA has fined the LA Clippers $30m (£22.2m) after an investigation found the club broke salary-cap rules in connection with star forward Kawhi Leonard's acquisition.

As part of the punishment, the Clippers must give up five first-round draft picks spanning 2029 to 2033. Team owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended from all league and team activities for 12 months for knowingly trying to help Leonard secure income opportunities outside of his playing contract.

Leonard, a two-time NBA champion, has personally been fined $700,000 (£518,997) by the league. Gillian Zucker, the Clippers' president of business operations, has been suspended without pay for a year after giving misleading statements to league investigators.

The sanctions follow a month-long NBA investigation that uncovered what the league described as a pattern of misconduct and multiple serious rule violations within the Clippers organisation, which had previously been penalised for circumventing salary-cap regulations.

Further details on the case are expected to follow.