Adam Silver Confirms Clippers’ Punishment as NBA Sets Tone for Season 81
NEW YORK — Adam Silver walked out of the Board of Governors meetings in midtown Manhattan with one message that cut through the noise: the Los Angeles Clippers have been hit, and the blow will stand.
The NBA commissioner confirmed that the sweeping penalties for the Clippers’ role in circumventing the salary cap are final — and designed to scare off anyone else tempted to bend the rules.
Los Angeles lost five first-round draft picks, was fined $30 million, and saw owner Steve Ballmer suspended from all league and team activities for a year after the league found the franchise had “knowingly seeking to help” Kawhi Leonard secure off-court income opportunities. Two Clippers executives were also suspended, and Leonard himself was fined $700,000. None of them appeared at this week’s meetings.
Ballmer has already apologized to fans and said he will not contest the punishment. The league, Silver made clear, could not simply move on without leaving a mark.
“There had to be competitive consequences,” Silver said in a press conference, acknowledging the difficulty of punishing an entire organization while insisting the integrity of the competition demanded it. He stressed he does not believe the sanctions inflict permanent damage on the franchise.
“We still want to be a 30-team league, and we recognize that, in some ways, we're unfortunately punishing the fans of that team as well. And so that's the balance we're trying to seek,” he said. “The ultimate goal, in terms of these type of sanctions, are to ensure that other teams don't have to engage in this type of behavior, in the future, so there has to be something beyond suspensions and financial consequences, and that has to be to regulate competition.”
The ruling lands just as the league readies its 81st season, which opens Oct. 20 with the New York Knicks beginning their title defense against the Philadelphia 76ers. The timing is no accident: the commissioner wanted the standard set before the first ball is tossed.
The Clippers, meanwhile, have already reshaped their roster. On June 30, they completed a trade sending Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors, the franchise he led to the 2019 championship. In return, Los Angeles received forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap, and two second-rounders. The deal had been on hold at the team’s request while the NBA wrapped up its investigation.
The punishment, then the trade. A reset, forced and chosen, all in the same summer.
Turmoil in Los Angeles: Record Lakers Sale Faces a Family Fight
On the other side of the city, the Lakers’ future is being fought in boardrooms and, potentially, courtrooms.
Silver confirmed that the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers — at a record valuation of $12.5 billion — is moving forward from Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner and TWG Global CEO Mark Walter to a group led by businessman Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger.
But it is anything but straightforward.
Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss is challenging the sale, arguing that her five siblings do not have the authority to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% stake. Buss, who holds more than 15% ownership herself, remains the team’s governor under league rules, a crucial detail in any ownership dispute.
Silver said he did not know Walter planned to sell until buyers with a handshake agreement approached the league. At the same time, Walter is under federal investigation for potential financial improprieties involving two insurance companies he controlled, though Silver emphasized that the NBA’s own vetting raised no alarms when Walter originally bought into the franchise in October 2025.
“Even to this day, as you know, these are allegations,” Silver said. “There are issues that are now being looked into, but independent of Mark Walter choosing to sell this team right now, he was not being investigated by our league.”
The league now has to navigate a record-breaking sale, a family dispute, and an owner under federal scrutiny — all while keeping the Lakers, one of its flagship brands, on stable ground.
Expansion, Arenas, and a Blazers Crossroads
While the Clippers and Lakers dominate headlines, the Board of Governors meetings also pushed the conversation toward the league’s future footprint.
- Las Vegas.
- Seattle.
- Portland.
Silver acknowledged active discussions around potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle, two markets that have hovered around the league’s horizon for years. He also addressed the increasingly tense situation in Portland, where Trail Blazers owner Thomas Dundon continues to wrestle with local officials over the need for a new arena.
The Moda Center, opened in 1995, now sits near the bottom of the league’s venue rankings. Silver did not sugarcoat the issue: the Blazers need a new home.
He called it essential that Dundon reach a workable agreement with city and state officials to make long-term operations viable, and he drew a clear line on relocation.
He said the league has not discussed moving the Blazers and called any such outcome a “failure.”
That word hung in the air. Failure. A franchise with a loyal fan base, reduced to a bargaining chip over a building? The league wants to avoid that scene at all costs.
There is no set timetable for adding new teams. The last expansion came in 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats joined as the 30th franchise before later reclaiming the Hornets name. The next step, Silver said, will be fresh bids from interested groups.
As for Las Vegas, the commissioner pointed to two possible paths: upgrading T-Mobile Arena or backing ambitious plans for what he termed a “modern entertainment palace.”
“I think that there is real excitement around either, you know, a renovated T-Mobile Arena,” Silver said. “I think it still needs some significant improvements, but at the same time, there are groups who have presented plans to go, what I would call, you know, a modern entertainment palace in Las Vegas, and it's a unique market.”
Seattle, with its deep basketball roots and long wait since losing the SuperSonics, remains firmly in the frame, even if Silver kept specifics close.
The league leaves Manhattan with its message sharpened. The Clippers have paid dearly. The Lakers’ ownership picture is under the microscope. Portland is on the clock. Las Vegas and Seattle are circling.
Season 81 starts on Oct. 20. The games will decide the title. The boardroom battles will decide what the NBA looks like when season 90 rolls around.
