Eleven days after the Clippers owner called the NBA's Kawhi Leonardsalary cap investigation a "witch hunt" and promised to fight the stiff penalties in court, the billionaire has totally reversed course, saying he'll comply with the league's punishment.
In fact, the former Microsoft CEO says the team has already cut the massive $30 million check.
"This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets. I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner."
Federal prosecutors have reportedly launched a criminal investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers over allegations the team skirted the NBA’s salary-cap rules in connection with Kawhi Leonard.
The New York Times reports the probe comes after the NBA hit the Clippers with a $30 million fine, suspended team owner Steve Ballmer, and took away five first-round draft picks last week.
The Clippers denied wrongdoing to the NYT and say they plan to vigorously challenge the league’s findings and penalties.
We've reached out to the team … so far, no word back.
Carmelo Anthony wanted no part of the Clippers drama ... laughing off our questions and reminding us he was at Fashion Week, not an NBA press conference.
Kenny Smith admits the NBA went straight for the Clippers' neck, but he doesn't think the punishment was excessive ... when you consider Steve Ballmer's team skirted the rules in a major way!
TMZ Sports spotted the hooper-turned-analyst at LAX on Friday, and asked him whether The Association went too hard.
"You're gonna have to suffer consequences for that kind of behavior," Smith told us.
"You're vehemently cheating. You're not just toeing the line. You're actually cheating and you're cheating at a high level. You're circumventing the salary cap. You're giving yourself an unfair advantage that no one else has, and you have to have severe penalties for that or other people will say, 'Well we can do it.'"
The NBA just unloaded on the Los Angeles Clippers, snatching five first-round draft picks, fining them $30 million, and suspending owner Steve Ballmer for an entire season!
The stiff punishment was all part of the league's investigation into whether superstar Kawhi Leonard circumvented the NBA's salary cap rules ... as a way to get compensation that wasn't on the books.
"The NBA announced today that the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard have been penalized for violating the salary cap circumvention rules contained in the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)," the league said.
Big development in the NBA’s long-running investigation into the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap scandal ... and it’s good news for billionaire Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, at least according to ESPN.
The league found no evidence that Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi off the books to dodge the salary cap, according to a report from the outlet.
But the NBA is pushing back, saying the story "contains numerous and significant inaccuracies."
Former NBA star Blake Griffin says his first experience with a sports psychologist was anything but a slam dunk ... claiming the shrink totally betrayed his trust.
Blake was on the "Friends Keep Secrets" podcast Tuesday with Lil Dicky, Kristin Batalucco, and Benny Blanco when recalled a nightmare interaction with a sports psychologist during his time with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He says the shrink came over to his place after practice one day and they chatted ... and then the shrink turned around and called up Blake's coach to spill about their convo.
The Clippers and Chris Paul have officially called it quits ... ’cause they shipped out the future Hall of Famer in a three-team trade that might not even be his final stop.
The Clippers, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets pulled off the deal Wednesday, with CP3 landing in Toronto as part of the roster shakeup. The Nets scored Ochai Agbaji, a 2032 second-round pick and cash, while the Clippers walked away with draft rights to international guard Vanja Marinković.
How do you celebrate winning big at the Golden Globes?? For "KPop Demon Hunters" singers EJAE and Rei Ami, they opted for VIP treatment at the LA Clippers game!!
Folks at the Intuit Dome for the Clips' home matchup against the Charlotte Hornets were in the presence of 2/3 of HUNTR/X on Monday ... with the big stars soaking in all the fun ... from throwing free shirts to fans to shooting free throws right on the hardwood!!
Of course, "Golden" took home the big award for "Best Original Song" at the awards show on Sunday ... with EJAE, who wrote the banger alongside Mark Sonnenblick, giving an emotional acceptance speech.
Snoop Dogg was responsible for the call of the NBA season on Monday ... the legendary rapper happened to be behind the microphone for an epic Steve Kerr flipout sesh, and he captured the crazy moment as only he could!
Snoop picked up the headset and stepped into the proverbial booth for the second half of Monday's showdown between the Warriors and the Clippers in Los Angeles ... when Kerr's emotions got the better of him in the fourth quarter, leading to losing it on the refs, and getting tossed from the game.
Clippers head coach Ty Lueis downplaying speculation a huge beef with Chris Paul led to the future Hall of Famer's exit... telling reporters he was in communication with the NBA star prior to the shocking move.
The longtime coach was bombarded with CP3 questions at practice on Tuesday ... with reporters trying to figure out more information about the decision.
One report suggested Lue and Paul were not on speaking terms before the team kicked the hooper to the curb ... but he said that's not the case.
The L.A. Clippers played their first game after Chris Paul's surprise departure on Wednesday ... but the future Hall of Famer was on the home crowd's minds -- with Atlanta Hawks fans hurling chants asking where the heck CP3 was during the game!!
A group of Hawks backers broke out in the jeers while Ivica Zubac was at the free-throw line for L.A. ... with "Where's Chris Paul?" clearly ringing through the arena.
Luckily for Zubac, it didn't have much effect ... as he made both shots from the line. The biggest news of the day also didn't hurt the Clippers' play ... as they went on to get the 115-92 win against Atlanta.
CP3 shared a screenshot of the Lob City hangout on Wednesday ... hours after the NBA world was rocked by the news the Clips abruptly sent him packing for good.
No word on what they talked about ... but we're guessing DJ and BG had to ask Paul for his side of the whole debacle.
Gilbert Arenas says the Clippers might as well pack their bags and get the hell outta of Los Angeles ... going OFF on the organization for disrespecting Chris Paul by sending him home during his retirement season.
The Clippers parted ways with the 12-time NBA All-Star guard in the middle of the night ... and Arenas went to TikTok to go on a passionate rant on the matter on Wednesday.
"Ooooooh, I done had it with the Clippers now," Arenas said. "Y'all gon' send thebest Clipper y'allever had home and not let him finish his last year?!"
Future Hall of Famer Chris Paul isn't getting a chance to ride off into the sunset with the L.A. Clippers -- the team just abruptly cut ties with the franchise great in the middle of a road trip.
CP3 announced the shocking news himself in the middle of the night ... going to Instagram to say he "Just Found Out I'm Being Sent Home" with a peace sign emoji from Atlanta, where the team is slated to play the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Later on, Clippers exec Lawrence Frank confirmed to ESPN the team is moving forward without Paul ... adding it will "work with him on the next step of his career."
Clippers and Nuggets players weren't the only ones showing off their moves on Wednesday -- a fan put his own on display after rushing the court during the game ... but as always, he ultimately had a date with security.
TMZ Sports obtained footage of the incident that went down during the matchup at the Inuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
We're told the guy came outta nowhere as he ran onto the hardwood ... and he somehow ended up right beside Nuggets guard Bruce Brown.
