AROUND the NBA:

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Jon Krawczynski: In speaking with a couple of executives around the league about it, the ruling certainly has everyone’s attention. Five draft picks is as close to a death sentence for team building as you can get. Draft picks are the lifeblood of the league, used to add young talent or trade for more established players. Losing five of them is a tremendous blow to a Clippers team that is already in transition after trading Leonard to Toronto. And the suspensions for Ballmer and Frank show that no one is above consequences. You can bet that the rest of the league has taken notice. In a league filled with cutthroat competitors, a slap on the wrist could have resulted in more teams pushing the envelope. A crackdown this severe will make everyone think twice, or maybe four or five times, about doing anything even remotely close to this. What does it mean, practically, for a team owner to be suspended? According to sources with direct knowledge of league rules, who spoke anonymously to speak freely about deliberations inside league and team front offices, and based on what happened in Taylor’s suspension, there is to be no attendance at games or practices — for them or any of the other 29 NBA teams. No appearances at the NBA All-Star Game or Emirates Cup, finals, draft or combine. In February, the Clippers hosted the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome. The league’s investigation into cap circumvention was ongoing, but Ballmer was everywhere, including on stage for Silver’s annual technology summit. He would have had to rent out the Hollywood Bowl or throw a street party on Sepulveda Boulevard to get even a taste of the All-Star experience had this verdict been handed down before that weekend.

New York Times