Over the past week, the NBA world has revolved around Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
Unfortunately for Leonard and the Clippers, it has nothing to do with the two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP’s prolific career.
Veteran journalist Pablo Torre, reporting on ‘Pablo Torre Finds Out,” recently dropped a bombshell, alleging that Leonard’s 2022 endorsement deal with the energy company Aspiration was essentially a way for the Clippers to circumvent the league’s salary cap and make up for money Leonard would lose by choosing to sign with the Clippers rather than re-signing with the Toronto Raptors, who Leonard had just led to the their first NBA title.
The NBA is now investigating Leonard and the Clippers. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer denied the allegations.
Clippers Not Expected to Face Much of a Punishment?
Despite the Clippers being viewed by many as guilty until proven innocent, many believe they aren’t going to face much of a punishment.
“I know in the CBA could be circumstantial evidence here, but I think the league would go down a slippery slope if we’re going that way, because I think you can find a lot of teams that have maybe violated the salary cap based on circumstantial evidence with it with regards to the Clippers here,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported.
Could the Clippers Situation With Kawhi Leonard Influence Other Teams?
With the Clippers not expected to face heavy punishments the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver, that raises the question — what’s stopping other teams from doing the same?
According to The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer, that’s exactly what other teams have begun contemplating.
“Even before Torre’s latest podcasted burst of reporting, judging from fan response on social media as well as my many conversations with various sources across the NBA map — and we’re talking ownership-level sources, longtime agents, salary cap strategists, coaches and more — there is an undeniable sense that many around the league regard the Clippers as guilty until they are proven innocent,” Fischer writes.
“Yet that characterization certainly does not apply to Silver.”
Insider Harrison Faigen has spoken to several teams and reports teams may feel emboldened to find alternate ways to pay players as well.
“I’ve spoken to multiple team strategists, for example, who told me, with chests puffed, that if the Clippers aren’t docked multiple first-round picks — if Leonard’s contract isn’t voided while his salary obligations remain on the Clippers’ books — they will feel emboldened to seek out their own version of shell companies to provided additional compensation to their players,” Faigen explained.
Obviously, this a huge can of worms that Silver and the league do not want to open. However, if the Clippers can get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, meaning they don’t face heavy fines and don’t lose first-round picks, it is something that could become a common practice. In that situation, you’d expect the NBA would step in to put a stop for it.
Of course, if they set a precedent by treating it as a minor infraction, every team is going to want to take advantage by finding alternative ways to pay their stars and keep some of their money off the books.