LA Clippers executive Gillian Zucker, suspended for one year without pay over the NBA’s Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention case, was previously involved in another impermissible player-related arrangement more than a decade ago.
Dan Woike reported Thursday in The Athletic that Zucker was behind a 2015 proposal designed to create additional off-court income for then-Clippers center DeAndre Jordan during his free agency.
According to Woike, the Clippers presented Jordan with an opportunity to earn extra money as a spokesperson for Lexus while attempting to retain him. The league ultimately fined the organization $250,000.
At the time, the episode was reportedly treated internally as a case of unfamiliarity with NBA rules. The latest investigation, however, places that incident in a different context.
Zucker emerged as one of the central figures in the NBA’s findings involving Leonard and his former business manager, Dennis Robertson. The league concluded that she directly initiated and facilitated endorsement arrangements between Leonard and four companies that also conducted business with the Clippers: Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, Lockton Insurance and Aspiration Partners.
Investigators also accused Zucker of making false and misleading statements about the Clippers’ role in securing those opportunities.
The report cited alleged efforts to create introductory emails that made it appear companies had independently approached Leonard, even though investigators concluded that the Clippers had already been involved in structuring the deals.
One arrangement involving Daktronics was described as a “spend back” concept, with the company allegedly believing its chances of securing Clippers business connected to Intuit Dome could be affected if it did not enter a commercial relationship with Leonard.
The NBA issued sweeping penalties after determining the Clippers and Leonard violated salary-cap circumvention rules. Los Angeles was fined $30 million and ordered to forfeit its first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.
Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank received a six-month suspension. Robertson was banned for five years from conducting NBA-related business on behalf of players or league personnel, and Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000.
The league also placed the Clippers under a five-year compliance and monitoring program.
Zucker was one of Ballmer’s first major hires after he purchased the franchise in 2014. Her role in both the Jordan incident and the Leonard investigation now creates a notable through line between two separate cases in which the Clippers were found to have improperly connected team business with player compensation.
The Clippers have denied wrongdoing and said they dispute the league’s findings.
