The NBA has handed down significant penalties against the LA Clippers, star Kawhi Leonard, Clippers executives, and Leonard’s former business manager due to salary cap circumvention violations. The league’s investigation, prompted by a podcast report and conducted by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, revealed a pattern of repeated misconduct by the Clippers, who had previously been offenders. As a result, the Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for a year, the team fined $30 million, Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank suspended for six months, and President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker suspended for a year. Leonard must pay $700,000, and his former business manager Dennis Robertson is banned from NBA dealings for five years. One of the most impactful sanctions is the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks from 2029 through 2033.

The forfeiture of draft picks directly involves the Indiana Pacers due to a trade deal between the teams. In 2029, the Clippers hold two first-round picks: their own and an unprotected first-round pick acquired from the Pacers in a February 2026 trade to acquire center Ivica Zubac. That pick is distinct because it is not protected and does not involve swap rights like the other pick held by the Clippers from the Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA’s decision to strip the Clippers of their 2029 first-round draft pick targets the Pacers’ pick rather than the Clippers’ own, thereby removing that selection as part of the punishment.

For the Pacers, the loss of their 2029 pick does not significantly alter their situation since they had already traded that pick to the Clippers in the Zubac deal. Their other assets exchanged in the trade included players Bennedict Mathurin (who later signed with the Pelicans), Isaiah Jackson, a 2026 first-round pick used to select Keaton Wagler, and a 2028 second-round pick obtained from Dallas. The Clippers’ return on that trade shrinks due to the forfeiture because they will no longer have the benefit of that future first-round pick, but the trade's core terms remain unchanged for Indiana.

While the forfeited pick means the Pacers cannot regain that draft asset in future transactions, it is somewhat cushioned by the NBA’s new draft lottery system and anti-tanking measures, which reduce the advantage of controlling one’s own first-round pick. Nonetheless, the Clippers’ penalties reduce the total number of first-round selections to 29 in 2029, pending league expansion, thereby impacting the league’s draft structure. The Clippers have announced plans to appeal the sanctions, but for now, the repercussions extend beyond LA and affect other franchises like the Pacers through these complex draft rights and trades.