The NBA has officially begun its investigation into Kawhi Leonard’s reported “no-show” endorsement deal. The situation that has cast a shadow over the Los Angeles Clippers.
While the scrutiny continues, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer strongly denied any wrongdoing. On his podcast, Bill Simmons expressed shock at Leonard’s situation, calling the reported arrangements “sloppy” and questioning Ballmer’s judgment
“It confirmed a lot of stuff that we’ve always felt was going on… All of this that was laid out was the sloppiest s*** l’ve ever seen. And I’m just like, I just can’t believe Ballmer was this dumb,” Simmons said.
Despite his harsh criticism, Simmons made it clear that his disbelief came from his perception of Ballmer as a sharp, detail-oriented owner.
“And I just think he’s like a really ‘on it’ guy. He’s not like a ‘cut corners old billionaire’ who just f*** it whatever, he’s really on it,” he added.
According to journalist Pablo Torre, the controversy traces back to a sponsorship arrangement with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company under federal investigation for fraud. The company allegedly paid Leonard $28 million despite never doing any promotional work for the company. He further claimed that Ballmer himself invested $50 million into the business.
NBA Executive Says Lakers Dodged A Bullet By Missing Out On Kawhi Leonard
Leonard joined the Clippers in 2019 after choosing them over the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers. In hindsight, one NBA executive suggested the Lakers may have avoided disaster by not securing him.
“The Lakers wanted Kawhi badly. Boy, they dodged a massive bullet by not landing him. You think Rich [Paul] and LeBron are hard to deal with? Uncle Dennis (Dennis Robertson) is even worse. He thinks Kawhi is the second coming of Jesus,” the executive said.
If Torre’s report proves true and the NBA rules that the Clippers attempted to circumvent salary cap rules, the penalties could be severe. For now, the Lakers have dodged association with the same controversy.
The post Bill Simmons Stunned By Clippers’ Sloppy Handling Of Kawhi Leonard Scandal In Blunt Rant originally published on Total Pro Sports.