Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer's bank account took a $250,000 hit on Tuesday after a fine was handed down by the league for some shady activity during negotiations with center DeAndre Jordan.
An offseason meeting to sway the former free-agent center to sign on the dotted line apparently included promises of third-party endorsements, which is a big no-no under the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement.
In a memo obtained by the Orange Country Register's Dan Woike, Ballmer set the record straight to his Clippers employees on the story behind the fine, noting that any circumvention on the team's part was unintentional:
Clippers Family -
Let me start by thanking each of you for your commitment and passion this offseason to prepare us for what promises to be an incredible season on and off the court.
Today, the NBA announced it has fined the Team for violating NBA rules in our presentation to DeAndre Jordan on July 2. The League's investigation concluded that the presentation of a potential (third-party) opportunity had no impact on DeAndre's decision to re-sign, and having been a part of the process, I can attest to this fact.
As we, and the basketball world observed, DJ ultimately chose to stay with the Clippers because he felt it was his best opportunity to win a championship, and because of his desire to remain part of the Clippers family.
As I shared with everyone on day one of purchasing the Team, being part of the Clippers family means operating with the highest integrity. We believed we were doing this the right way, and any circumvention was inadvertent. In our effort to support our players in every way possible, we as an organization must be diligent in complying with the CBA.
Let's continue to march (forward) in line with our credo: to win, to do our best, and always show the utmost respect for our players, our fans, our community, and our competitors.
Sincerely,Steve
The 6-foot-11 big man signed a reported four-year max contract worth $87.7 million, but the NBA agrees with Ballmer that Jordan's decision to extend his tenure as a Clipper was not at all influenced by outside endorsements.
However, since the Clippers violated the league's anti-circumvention rules, a fine had to be issued.
