What does it mean, practically, for a team owner to be suspended? According to sources with direct knowledge of league rules, who spoke anonymously to speak freely about deliberations inside league and team front offices, and based on what happened in Taylor’s suspension, there is to be no attendance at games or practices — for their or any of the other 29 NBA teams. No appearances at the NBA All-Star Game or Emirates Cup, finals, draft or combine. In February, the Clippers hosted the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome. The league’s investigation into cap circumvention was ongoing, but Ballmer was everywhere, including on stage for Silver’s annual technology summit. He would have had to rent out the Hollywood Bowl or throw a street party on Sepulveda
Boulevard to get even a taste of the All-Star experience had this verdict been handed down before that weekend.
More on Steve Ballmer: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
Pablo Torre: I want to get to what I've been so excited to get to for more than a year. As I've been reporting a year in public with you guys, two things are true about what we're going to do here today. One thing is there is more to come than is in the NBA's report. This is not everything. There is still more. I don't even know if we're going to get to that. But there's even more. (…) There are things that we have been investigating, continue to investigate today. The SEC got involved with Daktronics, which we will get to. That was before all of this happened. There is more. And yet, there are things that I learned for the first time in this report. And it's delightful. — 9/3/2026 YouTube
Pablo Torre: As we go through this, and we'll not get to all of it because it's way too much. And I encourage people to like dig in as we continue to cover it and investigate still, especially now that it seems like the story isn't over yet, which is perfect for what the story has been this whole time. The question is, so how do you explain all of this? Like you can go and go to court and I perversely of course want more documents. I always want more documents. Somehow I’m still unsatisfied with the documents. But I mean, how do you rationally explain, what is in the documents? — 9/3/2026 YouTube
The NBPA isn't going to fight this ruling and Kawhi Leonard is accepting the fine, but the Clippers ostensibly have another "avenue" to pursue: court — and not the basketball one. We'll see if the Clippers decide to fight this in America's judicial system. In doing so, Steve Ballmer would be following in the footsteps of his predecessor. After Silver banned Donald Sterling for life after a racist recording was made public, Sterling sued the league for damages exceeding $1 billion, saying the league's punishments were "draconian.” A federal judge dismissed Sterling's suit in 2016. — 9/3/2026 Yahoo! Sports
The andre gee newsletter: I went to ty lawson’s page after the news broke to see if he tweeted anything &caught him in the middle of a stream; he apologized. Ty Lawson: The pablo stans were sliding for Pablo. I owned up to it. — 9/3/2026 x.com
Keef Morris: Damn. That’s it’s? They got off easy!! — 9/2/2026 x.com
Fullcourtpass: “The investigation also made it clear that Kawhi Leonard didn’t knowingly have information about any salary cap circumvention occurring”- @ShamsCharania (h/t @Kawhidagoat1) — 9/2/2026 x.com
Mike Vorkunov: The Clippers also say the NBA's investigation cost nearly $50 million — and was paid for by Steve Ballmer. — 9/2/2026 x.com
Sam Quinn: Something to keep in mind with circumvention is that Article 13, Section 2(d) of the CBA essentially states that a circumvention violation can be inferred if there is no rational explanation for a contract that does not involve a violation. — 9/2/2026 x.com
Joey Linn: Also in the report: "Mr. Ballmer and Ms. Zucker told investigators the same: that the Clippers’ sole involvement in Mr. Leonard’s relationship with Aspiration was an introductory email. Based on the foregoing evidence, investigators find these statements to be inaccurate (at best) with respect to Mr. Ballmer and clearly false with respect to Ms. Zucker. The Clippers suggested to Aspiration that they enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, asked a business agent to help structure the agreement, conveyed proposed deal terms to that agent, provided input on the proposed deal, and remained in communication about the agreement thereafter with both Aspiration and Mr. Leonard’s representatives." — 9/2/2026 x.com
Shams Charania: BREAKING: The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after 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, sources tell ESPN. 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. — 9/2/2026 x.com
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Steve Ballmer banned from attending any NBA games, practices and league events during suspension
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