Sep 24, 2026 · 34 min · 11 segments
In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Ethan Sands steps outside the Cavs bubble to take a bigger-picture look at where the NBA stands heading into the 2026-27 season. The Clippers’…
Ethan SandsHost
And what I think is one of the most significant punishments the NBA has ever handed down to a franchise.
The NBA's investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers found multiple salary cap circumvention violations connected to off-court income opportunities for Kawhi Leonard.
It wasn't some little slap on the wrist, as some may have been accustomed to in the past.
Gillian Zucker, the team's president of business operations, was suspended without pay for one year.
Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, was suspended without pay for six months.
The Clippers are now subject to a five-year compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league.
And Dennis Robertson, Kawhi Leonard's longtime business partner, was barred from conducting business with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or regarding players, employees, or league personnel for five years.
And when you actually put all of that together, it becomes pretty clear why this is such a big deal.
The NBA said the Clippers weren't sitting back while Kawhi and these companies happened to find each other the league's investigation found that the Clippers affirmatively initiated off-court income opportunities for Kawhi and companies doing business with the team facilitated endorsement agreements induced companies to enter those agreements by offering them business from the Clippers pay personal expenses on behalf of Kawhi Leonard and his representatives and failed to report improper solicitations made on Kawhi Leonard's behalf.
That is the league saying essentially this wasn't just some random business relationship that happened to develop.
And before I even get into what I think about all of that, I have to give Pablo Torre and his
entire team credit
Pablo didn't have the story because he was the fastest person to tweet something.
And what I think is one of the most significant punishments the NBA has ever handed down to a franchise.
The NBA's investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers found multiple salary cap circumvention violations connected to off-court income opportunities for Kawhi Leonard.
It wasn't some little slap on the wrist, as some may have been accustomed to in the past.
Gillian Zucker, the team's president of business operations, was suspended without pay for one year.
Lawrence Frank, the president of basketball operations, was suspended without pay for six months.
The Clippers are now subject to a five-year compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league.
And Dennis Robertson, Kawhi Leonard's longtime business partner, was barred from conducting business with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or regarding players, employees, or league personnel for five years.
And when you actually put all of that together, it becomes pretty clear why this is such a big deal.
The NBA said the Clippers weren't sitting back while Kawhi and these companies happened to find each other the league's investigation found that the Clippers affirmatively initiated off-court income opportunities for Kawhi and companies doing business with the team facilitated endorsement agreements induced companies to enter those agreements by offering them business from the Clippers pay personal expenses on behalf of Kawhi Leonard and his representatives and failed to report improper solicitations made on Kawhi Leonard's behalf.
That is the league saying essentially this wasn't just some random business relationship that happened to develop.
And before I even get into what I think about all of that, I have to give Pablo Torre and his
entire team credit
Pablo didn't have the story because he was the fastest person to tweet something.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.