So apparently the Clippers deal with Kawhi was done with an under the table deal to circumvent the cap to get it across the finish line. As someone who started to actually care about basket ball during that title run, him leaving as a gut punch to early fandom that I never recovered from. Finding out that it was underhanded is unideal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OwzYk6OCFM&t=1s
Not sure how toothless the NBA is. I remember in the early 2000s they killed the Twolves when they tried to circumvent the cap, but everything I've read this morning says that this is 100 times worse (albeit without explaining exactly what the TWolves did). Ballmer won't care about money, so they only punishment that will actually be felt is something that cripples the team in the long run.