The Los Angeles Clippers were fined by the NBA $250,000 on Tuesday for violating league rules during their bid to re-sign DeAndre Jordan away from the Dallas Mavericks during the free-agency period.

After an investigation conducted by the league, it was found out that the Clippers broke "NBA rules prohibiting teams from offering players unauthorized business or investment opportunities" during their July 2 presentation to Jordan by including a "potential third-party endorsement opportunity for the player" in their pitch.

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ESPN indicated that the NBA prohibits teams to set up a third-party entity to give additional recompense for a player to be able to lure players to their side except if it was legally included in the contract and allowed by the league's current CBA.

Clips owner Steve Balmer was quick to release a statement that what his organization did was "inadvertent", saying that the team "believed" they "were doing this the right way" and that they are "diligent in complying with the CBA."

However, the NBA also clarified that the discovered endorsement prospect did not influence Jordan's decision to stay with the Clippers, as per USA Today. League officials also revealed that the 27-year-old center "has not yet done business" with the third-party entity that was mentioned in the presentation, which reportedly have resulted in a lesser punishment from the league.

Still, it was a substantial fine to pay for Balmer, who is said to be okay about the NBA's decision regarding the matter and will not appeal.

CBS Sports noted that the reason why this rule is enforced is to prohibit richer and more influential teams to use their third-party business connections in sweetening the pot for a free agent, thus sidestepping the league's salary cap system.

For instance, if a free agent was offered by an NBA team $40 million for four years but included an endorsement opportunity with a beverage product that is worth $50 million annually, then the team would only have a $10 million a year salary cap impact while the player receives more than what is actually stated in his contract, making him choose the team unfairly in the process.

The rule was essential to keep the league balanced and competitive, yet what the Clippers did was not considered "extreme" by the NBA, thus handing out a fine of "only" a quarter of a million dollars.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, Los Angeles Clippers, deandre jordan