BREAKING: Clippers fined FIVE first-round picks in Aspiration investigation | Double Dribble

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact that you may not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. They make it super simple. Pop over to progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with coverage options tailored to your choices. Plus, you'll see which discounts you may qualify for, like the online quote discount, or savings for paying in full.
In fact, 99% of Progressive Auto customers earn at least one discount. See if you could save when you switch to Progressive. You'll feel good about making a savvy choice. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little extra cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025 Potential savings will vary.

**Mo Dakhil** (1:01)
Welcome to the Double Dribble podcast with Duvin and Dackil. I'm not going to do any of the intros because it's in an emergency podcast because Jared and I just potted like six hours ago, and coincidentally, it was our Pacific Division preview, which means we talked a little bit about the Clippers. We're going to talk about that specifically in a moment. But news has come down. The NBA has concluded almost a year to the date where Pablo Torre dropped the bombshell podcast on Pablo Torre finds out and you have to give him all the credit for everything. Even at times I thought he went, it was like, all right, this is too much Pablo, chill out. He 100 percent nailed this from the beginning, had this thing peg almost the whole way, and never relented. That led to the investigation that the NBA opened into the Clippers circumventing the cap, not circumnavigating the cap.
You listened to the earlier podcast.
Now has come down to an actual punishment. Jared, first, how are you doing? Second, do you actually have the punishment up or do you need me to read it off?

**Jared Dubin** (2:19)
I've got everything up from the NBA statement from Wachtel Lipton to the ways the Clippers broke the rules to all of the various punishments that we can walk through if you want to go through all of that.

**Mo Dakhil** (2:32)
Well, let's just start with the baseline. What is the actual punishment? You don't have to read the statements.

**Jared Dubin** (2:39)
The actual punishment is the Clippers forfeit five first round draft picks, one each in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 The Clippers are fined $30 million. Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year.
President of Business Operations Gillian or Gillian, I'm sorry, I don't know how to pronounce the name. Zucker is also suspended without pay for one year. And President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months. The Clippers and their personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for five years. Kawhi Leonard is required to pay the league $700,000.
And Uncle Dennis, Dennis Robinson is banned from conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee or other league or team personnel for a period of five years.

**Mo Dakhil** (3:34)
Okay, first off, well done to the NBA.

**Jared Dubin** (3:41)
Adam Silver, we didn't think you had it in you.

**Mo Dakhil** (3:44)
Did not. I literally think I posted that, I texted that, God, social media has ruined my brain. I texted that to a friend of mine going like, I didn't think Adam had this in him.
That is massive.

**Jared Dubin** (3:59)
It's a lot more massive than I predicted just this morning when I said Clippers were going to get fined one first round pick in the investigation.

**Mo Dakhil** (4:06)
Not so much. And part of the reason why I'm like, okay, we have to do an emergency one just so I can make fun of you. The season has it, training camp hasn't even begun, and one prediction already out the window. Right, that's the only reason why I wanted to do the podcast. All right, everybody, we'll talk to y'all later.
I think the thing is you can't just, for the longest time, it really did feel like the Clippers were trying to find their way out, or excuse me, the NBA was trying to find a way out for the Clippers in this situation. It never felt like they were going to come down that hard on the Clippers.
Reality, though, is if you didn't come down hard on the Clippers, then the gloves are off for all the other teams. And I think that is one of those, this is one of those moments. It's akin to the Joe Smith kind of punishment that the Wolves lost five draft picks.