Kawhi Leonard Addresses NBA Punishment, 'Integrity and Respect… Are Fundamental to Who I Am'

Kawhi Leonard will pay $700,000 in restitution after an investigation by the NBA found that he and the Los Angeles Clippers had violated the salary cap circumvention rules.

Leonard responded to the penalty with a statement through his agent on Wednesday, per ESPN's Shams Charania :

"Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family. I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone's part to circumvent the salary cap. For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate."

In addition to Leonard's punishment, the Clippers will forfeit five first-round picks in each of the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts. Team owner Steve Ballmer will face a one-year suspension from all NBA and team activities. Ballmer will also pay a $30 million fine.

Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker will be suspended without pay for one year, while the team's president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, will face a six-month suspension without pay.

The league's announcement called the Clippers "a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules," adding that Leonard and his uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, "violated the circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses."

ESPN's Bobby Marks detailed the exact offenses by the Clippers and Leonard.

"The NBA's collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. "I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers' institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."

With the investigation concluded and the punishments handed out, the trade that will send Leonard to the Toronto Raptors will seemingly go through. The deal was previously paused amid the investigation.

In June, the Clippers sent Leonard to Toronto in return for forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, second-round picks in 2030 and 2033, and rights to a first-round pick swap in 2027.

It marks a reunion between Leonard and the Raptors after he brought a championship to the city in his sole season with the team in 2018-19.