The Timberwolves had an written agreement with Joe Smith to sign him to three separate and consecutive one year contracts for way below market value so they could establish Bird rights on him and give him a bigger deal down the road. The only reason they got caught is that his agent got greedy and ratted him out.
This is a million times worse. Steve Balmer is likely to get kicked out of the league. He's the fifth richest person in the world so fining him isn't going to cut it. The Clippers have traded all their first round picks for the next five years anyway, so those can't be taken away.
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