Who Is Most to Blame for the Mess Clippers Find Themselves In?

It has been a disastrous week for the Los Angeles Clippers, who received the harshest penalty in NBA history for their violation of salary cap rules. But the real disaster starts now.

The Clippers will find it very difficult to bounce back and build relevant and competitive teams. After forfeiting five first-round picks, it will be a big challenge to add top-end talent. It will be harder to retain talent as well, given how unlikely it will be for them to contend. Plus, there is the reputational damage to the organization, which will take a very long time to repair.

There aren't too many periods of success in Clippers franchise history. But the organization has also never been disgraced to this level.

There are obviously several culprits responsible for this. But who deserves the most blame?

Steve Ballmer Deserves %100 of the Blame

Whenever any organization suffers a failure of this proportion, the blame game has to start at the top. For the Clippers, that is Steve Ballmer.

After purchasing the team in 2014, Ballmer quickly endeared himself to the fanbase. This was not only because he succeeded the universally hated Donald Sterling, but also because he was a willing spender with a lot of ambitions for the franchise. He quickly turned the Clippers into an attractive destination for players and gave the team an arena of its own, the Intuit Dome.

It turns out, Ballmer was willing to violate the league rules to ensure that the Clippers become a marquee franchise.

There were reports about Kawhi Leonard's camp making demands in violation of league rules, like a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money, dating back to his pre-Clippers days. Ballmer and the Clippers were clearly willing to play ball.

At every turn, the Clippers went above and beyond to appease Leonard. Kawhi received special treatment from the franchise, which hitched its wagon to Leonard. As one of the richest men on the planet, Ballmer seemingly felt untouchable. Whether it was because he didn't take the league rules seriously or he was just used to acting with impunity, Ballmer was the one directing the Clippers' dealings with Leonard.

Pablo Torre's reporting and the executive summary from the law firm leading the investigation make this clear. This wouldn't have happened without Ballmer leading the charge. He was directly involved in the communication and the process that ensured Leonard got paid outside of his contract with the Clippers.

Sure, the executive summary highlights the president of business operations, Gillian Zucker, as the lead executive arranging the illicit business between Leonard and the team sponsors. She had Ballmer's trust and was given the authority to conduct this type of business. She deserves all the punishment she received from the league, but she was hired for that role by Ballmer, after all.

The same goes for Lawrence Frank or anyone else involved in this scandal. Without Ballmer's explicit endorsement and push to get this done, this wouldn't have taken place.

There will be many who will blame Leonard and his associates for this. They would be right to be frustrated that Leonard got away with it.

However, it is not the players' responsibility to ensure teams abide by the league's salary cap rules. If an employee makes an outrageous demand that is morally or legally wrong, it is still the employer's responsibility to say no.

Several NBA teams have reportedly said no to Leonard's camp. The Clippers didn't. And Steve Ballmer is the main reason why.

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