Source: https://www.ocregister.com/2025/09/04/swanson-kawhi-leonard-hasnt-been-worth-the-headaches/

If what’s being alleged is true, the question for me would be: All that for what?

For Kawhi Leonard? Yes, the basketball savant from Moreno Valley was the hottest commodity in 2019 free agency. He was 28 and he’d just won his second NBA title and second NBA Finals MVP.

He’d been the best player on those San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors title teams, but the leader of neither. We probably should have thought harder about how he’d left San Antonio on bad terms, or that he was limping away from The North.

Because, for the Clippers, Leonard has proved the least reliable, least charismatic basketball star money could buy.

And now they’re going to be investigated for allegedly doing all that with this Aspiration company for … what? Because they wanted this uber-private, mysterious figure to be the face of their franchise?

All that for the ironic “Fun Guy” who has only turned the dial backward for the Clippers in L.A., where our stars are stars, charismatic figures who embrace the attention and show out on stage? Think Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal … Blake Griffin.

All that for one Western Conference finals appearance and that’s it? One that came without Leonard, whose second-round knee injury (a torn ACL, we were finally told weeks later) broke Clippers’ fans hearts, again.

All that to be humiliated in the Orlando bubble? Remember 2020, when Kawhi’s Clippers blew a 3-1 second-round playoff series lead against the Denver Nuggets? Remember Game 7, when Leonard and his hand-picked running mate Paul George combined to shoot 0 for 11 with the season on the line in the fourth quarter?

All that and the Lakers – who were left scrambling after the Klaw left them hanging – threw together a squad of role-embracing vets who handled the bubble like pros and won the franchise its 17th title, a swift and stinging rebuttal.

All that so the Clippers could say that the Veruca Salt of free agents picked them, but only after they met his demands to not only move heaven and earth but also future league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round draft picks and two pick swaps to procure PG to play alongside?

All that, perhaps, to turn the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder into a potentially dynastic force that could terrorize the NBA for years with its young roster built in part on the Clippers’ contributions? All while leaving the Clippers’ own cupboards low on valuable draft stock?

All that to get just 37 games out of an ever-carefully-ramping-up Leonard last season when the Intuit Dome debuted – to rave reviews but slow-arriving crowds that didn’t start showing up in earnest until the postseason was nigh, the Clippers on their way to a first-round flameout?

The Clippers have already lost their big bet on Kawhi – but it was one that reasonable people agreed with them making, at least until Torre’s reporting alleged wagers we might not have known about.

And what if, now, disappointment turns into disaster?

35 comments

  2. Kawhi is a fucking vampire lmaoooo.

    Gets a max deal. Also gets an extra $50M under the table. Doesn’t even pretend to earn that dirty money. And then barely even shows up for work at his real job.

    Dude is absolutely craven.

  3. This Clippers peaked unironically at the moment when Paul George crossed up CP3 and has never been close to the same.

  4. This is the take away… No punishment the NBA can throw down is bigger than the embarrassment Ballmer has to deal with. Shine a light on it all and then keep reminding him it was all for nothing. His team stinks, he made very bad moves, he doesn’t have a way out and OKC is set for a run because hes a very bad basketball mind.

    He’s going to have to talk about how’s he’s a bad businessman and a bad owner for the next year at least. Kawhi who hates talking is going to be forced to field questions about this for the rest of his life.

  6. He should be banned from the NBA. Not like he’s gonna play another meaningful minute anyways…

  8. Anyone else just absolutely loving this ?

    Cause I remember lob city that eventually led to losing time

    And now we got cheating going on that eventually led to more losing time

    Clips fans, it’s time to ask for a beam cause y’all deserve something

    Lmao

  11. Spurs may have been able to win a championship in 2019 if he had stayed, but otherwise they dodged a massive bullet.

  14. clipper fans are legit the only people who are gonna get punish for this and it’s really sad.

    Edit:holy shit this no flair lakers fan has one of the biggest hate boners ive ever seen on reddit for a team that should not be this deep into his head.

  15. This crisis PR vibe is funny to watch. Like we are supposed to blame the worker bc the owner signed a bad deal or even concocted an illegal one? Were sposta blame the player? Balmer is probably just trying to blow up the contract so he doesnt have to pay him? Who knows what’s actually happening but it’s clear to me the billionaire is trying to change the narrative.  Balmer broke the rules to illegally compete, typical of a billionaire,  it didnt work out, now he’s resetting. I’m not sure why the other owners are causing a bigger scene.

  16. He wasnt the best player on the Spurs finals team. He literally had two finals games in single figures. Its impressive what Kawhi has done after those finals, but they tend to get overrated a lot.

  17. I had no idea until I listened to the Hoop Collective today that he’s the reason for FOUR Clippers investigations during his tenure.

    He’s the quiet cancer that gets paid

  18. I love it when teams think they can just buy their way to titles and fail miserably. The only reason I was rooting for them was because I wanted them to be better than the Lakers.

  19. i mean, when they signed him there was a real argument that he was the best player in the world. Durant just got hurt and LeBron had looked old on an awkward Lakers team and missed the playoffs. Kawhi had just beaten Giannis pretty decisively and Jokic wasn’t there yet (and honestly no one could’ve thought at that time he was going to hit the ceiling he has).

  21. Ballmer 100% wanted him because he’s great at basketball. Was in the conversation for best basketball player in the world at the time.

    Would it have been nice for ballmer if he was super charismatic and marketable? Absolutely, but you can only sign players who dont have a contract in free agency and kawhi was unquestionably great at basketball which helps establish a fanbase on its own.

  22. Ok… But who created this headache for them?

    The team that paid him (and broke the CBA to do it)

  27. I blame his uncle meddling in his contract negotiations. This uncle Dennis dude doesn’t respect the league’s integrity. This ordeal should result in severe penalties in the form of fines, draft compensation, and lengthy suspensions.

  28. His main issue is that he can only be healthy enough to play 4 games a year. So you have to pick very carefully especially for that sort of money.

  30. kawhi was good. now he’s just washed. why would anybody take him now? he’s always injured

  34. Least charismatic? Lol, we’re talking about Kawhi. Are we asking water not to be wet? 

  35. I honestly feel bad for Ty Lue. He’s a good coach but stuck with the wrong star and the wrong franchise

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