Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has received a one-year suspension from the NBA following the league’s investigation into salary-cap circumvention.
The Clippers were also hit with historic penalties, losing five first-round draft picks and receiving a $30 million fine after the NBA concluded the organization violated league rules.
Bill Simmons described the punishment as unprecedented and sharply criticized Ballmer’s handling of the situation.
“This was the biggest punishment ever handed out in the National Basketball Association. You know all of it at this point…This was a phenomenal level of incompetence from [Steve] Ballmer and the Clippers. They have screwed up almost a decade and a half of their franchise,” Simmons said on The Ringer.
“I never thought the Clippers would find a new rock bottom, but I think they have.”
Simmons even compared the current controversy with the turbulent ownership of Donald Sterling, who received a lifetime NBA ban and was forced to sell the Clippers in 2014 after recordings containing racist remarks became public.
Ballmer purchased the franchise from the Sterling family for $2 billion that same year, beginning what was supposed to be a new era for the organization. However, the latest scandal has once again placed the Clippers at the center of major controversy.
The dispute may not be finished. Ballmer could potentially pursue legal action against the NBA, while the Clippers have made clear they intend to challenge the league’s findings.
“For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process,” the Clippers said in a statement.
Despite the NBA’s ruling, Ballmer continues to dispute the findings, setting up the possibility of a lengthy battle between the Clippers and the league.
