When the hammer finally dropped, the Los Angeles Clippers got clobbered. Almost no one associated with the NBA's nearly year-long investigation of the organization for salary cap circumvention was spared -- except, it seems, for Kawhi Leonard, who will evidently be allowed to make a run for the border and flee to Canada. A lucky break for Leonard (and, by extension, the Toronto Raptors after trading for Leonard in June), who escapes relatively unscathed in what has been a very long and messy scandal for the league.
On Wednesday, the NBA issued a statement saying the investigation "found a pattern of misconduct and multiple rules violations" by the Clippers, who are said to have initiated "off-court income opportunities" between Leonard and four separate companies. In essence, the Clippers, per the investigation, made introductions to companies like the now-bankrupt Aspiration, which gave Leonard what amounted to a $28 million no-show endorsement deal, providing gobs of supplemental income for Leonard while allowing the Clippers to circumvent the NBA's salary cap rules.
The league did not take kindly to that kind of scheming and issued harsh penalties as a result. The Clippers were docked five future first-round picks (beginning in 2029 and ending in 2033) and fined $30 million. Additionally, senior leadership was put in a protracted timeout. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended from league and team activities for one year, President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker was suspended without pay for one year and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months.
Ouch. To underscore the NBA's displeasure, commissioner Adam Silver also wagged a disapproving finger in the organization's face, saying he was "deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers' institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."
NBA hammers Clippers, Steve Ballmer for salary cap circumvention as Kawhi Leonard avoids suspension Sam Quinn
Kawhi gets best-case scenario
The commish did not pull any punches in his statement or the punishment -- of the Clippers. When it comes to Leonard, the league essentially let him walk. No voided contract, as some speculated might happen. No hefty suspension that would leave his as-of-this-writing still-pending trade to Toronto on hold while the Raptors worked out whether or not having him around for a huge chunk of the season (or possibly the entire thing) was worth what they gave up to bring him back. Instead, Leonard must pay the league $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits that were funneled to his uncle and former business manager Dennis Robertson, more commonly known as "Uncle Dennis."
For Leonard, that represents the best-case scenario. A fine of less than $1 million is a pittance compared to the tens of millions he reportedly cleared for sweetheart no-show endorsement deals. The guess here is that he's happy to pay what amounts to a parking ticket while the Clippers have the book thrown at them and do real time. Of course, to hear Leonard tell it through his new agent, Harrison Gaines, he was an innocent bystander in all this. In a statement issued through Gaines, Leonard said he entered into "the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone's part to circumvent the salary cap."
Your mileage may vary on that. Leonard didn't explain, for example, why he reportedly did nothing on behalf of Aspiration. No social media posts or reposts. No public appearances. Nothing that any of the many reporters who looked into the matter could find. It's also awfully convenient for Leonard to plead ignorance on the whole thing when, back in 2019, the NBA, per the summary report f the investigation, enacted a "rules enforcement initiative" based on what we'll call Uncle Dennis's unique negotiation tactics.
According to the investigation -- you can read the whole thing here -- the league previously provided a training session on the CBA's circumvention rules to senior Clippers officials, including Ballmer, Zucker and Frank. But Leonard probably just missed all that. It's hard to keep up with allegations about previous cap circumvention shenanigans by your uncle and business manager when you're being quizzed about more recent allegations regarding cap circumvention shenanigans by the same guy.
There's already rampant speculation about why Leonard got off so easily. Did he collaborate with the league and aid the investigation in exchange for a lesser penalty? But what's done is done. There's apparently no appeals process here, as the NBA and NBPA reached an agreement declaring the penalties "final and binding on all parties." The Clippers' only recourse is to fight the ruling in court despite the organization's unsurprising and vehement rejection of the findings.
Clippers 'vehemently reject' NBA's findings in Kawhi Leonard investigation, vow to 'fight' punishments Jack Maloney
Clippers left hanging as Kawhi flees for Toronto
The end result is that Leonard skates and the Raptors will plug him into an improved starting lineup in what should be a competitive Eastern Conference. Throw the Raptors into a grab-bag of contenders with the defending-champion New York Knicks, along with the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.
As for the Clippers, dark(er) days loom. In exchange for sending Leonard to Toronto, the Clippers received Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, one pick swap, and two second-rounders. Forget about the players. They're largely immaterial when you consider the big picture, which doesn't look good for the Clippers going forward. Sure, they got some draft capital back for Leonard, but because of their relationship with him, they forfeited a whole lot more -- and not just the five first-round picks they'll surrender as punishment for the cap circumvention debacle.
In order to bring Leonard to L.A. in the first place, they also had to pry Paul George away from Oklahoma City in order to appease Leonard. That cost the organization Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a bushel of draft picks, one of whom became Jalen Williams. For those keeping track, that's one player who went on to be a two-time MVP, another who made All-NBA and All-Defense two years ago, as well as a bucket load of valuable picks. And in exchange for all that, the Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals once. No NBA Finals appearances. No parades. No banners. Just a whole lot of headaches.
That last bit figures to continue unabated for the Clippers. As for Leonard, he'll be allowed to play basketball and not worry too much about any of this, if he ever did at all.
That's a pretty sweet deal for Leonard. Add it to the list.
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