LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The NBA fined the Los Angeles Clippers $30 million and suspended owner Steve Ballmer from all league and team activities for a year Wednesday after finding the team circumvented league salary cap rules by arranging outside endorsement deals for star forward Kawhi Leonard and paying his personal expenses.

The league also stripped the Clippers of five first-round draft picks, one each from 2029-33. Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for a year, while President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months.

Leonard was personally fined $700,000.

"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 in a statement. "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."

The Clippers issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying team officials "vehemently reject the NBA's findings, which are the result of a "heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence."

"What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it's fairness and accuracy," according to the team. "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."

Ballmer and the Clippers have denied any wrongdoing in connection with the team's signing of Leonard in 2019. But the league determined through an independent investigation that the team facilitated so-called endorsement agreements between Leonard and four companies -- Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance.

According to the league, the team induced the companies "to enter into these agreements by offering them business from the team." The team also paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives and failed "to report improper solicitations for off-court income opportunities made on Mr. Leonard's behalf through his then-business manager, Dennis Robertson."

The league's investigation found that Leonard "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."

In a statement issued through his new agent, Harrison Gaines, Leonard said, "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," he said.

The Clippers in June reached an agreement to trade Leonard to the Toronto Raptors, but the deal was put on hold pending the outcome of the league's investigation.

Gary and Shannon

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