‘How much better…’ Stephen A. Smith goes off on ‘gangster’ Kawhi Leonard after Raptors trade

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Stephen A. Smith explains why he thinks Kawhi Leonard is a ‘gangster’ for everything he has done during his time with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The NBA approved Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors, and his scandalous Los Angeles Clippers stint has officially come to an end.

The story of how Steve Ballmer and the franchise circumvented the salary cap to pay Leonard has dominated headlines for the past year, but even that saga is over now.

While the Clippers are dealing with some difficult punishments, Leonard himself has gotten away relatively light. Stephen A. Smith seemed to almost be in disbelief when he spoke about it.

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty ImagesStephen A. Smith thinks Kawhi Leonard got away with a ‘crime’ after everything he did

In the entire Aspiration issue, Ballmer and the Clippers have taken responsibility and apologised. For his part, Leonard fired his uncle and previous agent, Dennis Robertson.

The only real punishment he received, though, was a $700K fine, a drop in the bucket compared to how much the two-time NBA champion makes. After his trade to Toronto went through, Smith didn’t hold back on all of this.

“Kawhi Leonard… he’s a gangster. He broke the rules, got caught, pointed the finger at somebody else, threw the organization under the bus, got his money and left the country” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/eRoy3uTLpt

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 15, 2026

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“For him to cause all the trouble he has caused to this organisation, and to walk away with nothing more than having to surrender $700,000 worth of restitution… It’s a crime,” Stephen A. said on ESPN.

“Kawhi Leonard, I said this the other day, he’s a gangster. He broke the rules, got caught, pointed the finger at somebody else, threw the organisation under the bus, got his money, and left the country.

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