On Wednesday, the NBA imposed one of the toughest penalties in its history. Citing deals it says were designed to circumvent the salary cap, the league stripped the Los Angeles Clippers of five first-round draft picks, fined the team $30 million, suspended owner Steve Ballmer and two executives, and ordered player Kawhi Leonard to pay $700,000.

The Clippers and Leonard deserved punishment. But by taking away those draft picks, the NBA is punishing people who had nothing to do with the secret deals.

Ballmer can serve his suspension; Leonard can pay his fine. But the fans, commercial partners and other players will be stuck with a weaker team long after the people responsible have served their penalties and moved on.

The backstory to this scandal is an embarrassment.

It starts in 2019, when Leonard was a free agent and his uncle and business manager, Dennis Robertson, sought benefits prohibited by the league, including guaranteed off-court income, according to an independent investigator’s report commissioned by the NBA. After Leonard signed with the Clippers, Robertson resumed the pressure, seeking roughly $10 million a year. Investigators found the team turned to business partners, including Aspiration, a sponsor in which Ballmer had invested millions, to meet the demand.

Journalist Pablo Torre revealed the arrangement last year and won a Pulitzer........

© Bloomberg