Can the NBA's investigation into Kawhi Leonard, Clippers affect OKC Thunder?

In what is otherwise the quietest part of the year, Pablo Torre dropped a bombshell as the NBA awaits the 2025-26 regular season. In a detailed “Pablo Torre Finds Out” video breakdown, Torre laid out a paper trail that suggests the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap with Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard signed a corporate sponsorship that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in. An agreed-upon compensation for the multi-time All-Star was $48 million after the Boston Sports Journal found more money after Torre’s initial report of $28 million.

Leonard signed an endorsement deal with Aspiration. Ballmer said he helped both sides introduce themselves to each other. The recently bankrupt environmental company never featured him in any of its promotional material when it existed.

After Torre broke the news, the NBA announced it would open an investigation into Leonard and the Clippers. This story has trended all over the sports world. The possible consequences if LA were aware of this and utilized it to give Leonard an additional salary would be ginormous, to say the least.

For the first time in decades, Joe Smith has been mentioned. Of course, the Minnesota Timberwolves were punished for a salary cap-evading strategy when they signed the role player for less money with the promise of a bigger payday down the road.

The NBA docked the Timberwolves of five future first-round picks from 2001-05. Fair to say that if the Clippers are guilty of wrongdoing, a similar punishment would absolutely torpedo their future ambitions. Especially since LA is just now getting back control of its future first-round draft picks.

Which segues to my next point — how could this affect the Oklahoma City Thunder?

As most know, the Thunder are the reigning NBA champions after one of the most dominating seasons in league history. They went a historic 68-14 in the regular season with a league-record plus-12.9 point differential. After a couple of seven-game series, they captured the Larry O’Brien trophy.

The Thunder wouldn’t have had one of the fastest accelerations from rebuild to NBA champion without the Clippers. The 2019 blockbuster deal that sent Paul George to LA to play with Leonard landed OKC Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and eventually Jalen Williams. The two best players of their title team.

The cruel part is, the Thunder aren’t done receiving the benefits of the draft-asset-rich trade that they completed six years ago. The modern-day Herschel Walker trade is still not completed. The Thunder could still receive LA’s 2026 first-round pick and own swap rights with LA’s 2027 first-round pick.

If Adam Silver lays down the hammer, could that mean the Thunder could be some collateral damage to enforce that this type of salary cap trickery no longer happens? Not necessarily. And even not likely.

If anything, the NBA would sanction LA’s future first-round picks that it’ll eventually get control of. Once 2030 arrives, the Clippers will have full control of their first-round picks, at least as things currently stand. But if Silver and the other 29 owners want to send a message, that’s where you hit them.

There’s also the floated idea that Leonard could be punished as well. Whether with a suspension or getting his current contract voided, his theoretical jettison from LA could boost the Thunder’s odds to get another high first-round draft pick in the next two years.

Once again, let me reemphasize that this is all pure hypothetical. No one truly knows what might happen or if this situation could affect LA this upcoming season or the one after that. But for those worried that the Thunder might get the rug pulled under them with their draft capital, I seriously doubt it.

There are a lot of unknowns about this Leonard and Clippers situation. Torre opened a can of worms that the NBA wasn’t ready for. Who knows how long its investigation will take and what a possible punishment could be. Either way, this latest saga continues to prove that perhaps the multi-time All-Star isn’t worth the constant headaches.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Can NBA’s investigation into Kawhi Leonard, Clippers affect Thunder?

Can the NBA’s investigation into Kawhi Leonard, Clippers affect OKC Thunder?

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