{"id":711847,"date":"2026-04-16T15:54:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711847\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T15:54:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:54:53","slug":"kawhi-leonard-wont-talk-clippers-future-as-nba-investigation-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711847\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard won’t talk Clippers future as NBA investigation looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kawhi Leonard isn\u2019t ready to plant his flag \u2014 or any trees \u2014 in Los Angeles just yet.<\/p>\n

Amid investigations from the NBA and podcaster Pablo Torre, who presented evidence that appears to point out that the Clippers circumvented the salary cap to give Leonard and his uncle extra benefits to sign with the Los Angeles team, Leonard told reporters that he\u2019s not thinking about the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me cry about this loss a little bit more,\u201d Leonard told reporters after the Clippers were eliminated by the Warriors 126-121<\/a> in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\"GoldenKawhi Leonard said he\u2019s not sweating an uncertain offseason to come. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Many expect that a massive punishment could be on the horizon for the Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer, who was an investor in Aspiration, an LA-based sustainability-as-a-service company<\/a>, which signed Leonard to an endorsement deal right as he agreed to a deal with the Clippers.<\/p>\n

Leonard, who is managed by his uncle, Dennis, is at the center of the controversy, in which he signed a $28 million, four-year deal for what appears to be a \u201cno-show\u201d endorsement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought about it too much other than questions asked,\u201d Leonard said about the ongoing investigation. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to ask the NBA, not me. I\u2019m not the one doing the investigation. \u2026 I think we\u2019re going to be in the clear. I\u2019m not stressing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aspiration, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025, was initially billed as a carbon offset company that would plant trees for companies seeking to neutralize their environmental impact.<\/p>\n

Aside from the multiple investigations<\/a>, Leonard\u2019s contract is up for an extension, and given his strong performance this season, it is likely worth the additional two years and $126.1 million he can sign for this offseason.<\/p>\n

Leonard\u2019s current deal ends after next season, meaning an extension would go through the 2029 season.<\/p>\n

\"SteveThe Clippers are under investigation for circumventing the salary cap. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Clippers went 42-40 this season and were the No. 9 seeds in a crowded Western Conference, and were led by Leonard, who put up a career high 27.9 points per game in his 15th season.<\/p>\n

Leonard, 34, will likely be given some sort of clarity on the Aspiration investigation this offseason before any extension talks can happen, and it remains possible that he is given a punishment in his own right, as well as the Clippers franchise. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard isn\u2019t ready to plant his flag \u2014 or any trees \u2014 in Los Angeles just yet.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,529,135,6,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-711847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-kawhi-leonard","10":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116415204038567173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}