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The Kawhi Leonard saga came to a head on Wednesday, Sept. 2, when the NBA released the results of an 11-month investigation that concluded the Los Angeles Clippers knowingly circumvented the league’s salary cap through “no-show” endorsement deals for their former star forward.
The Clippers are being fined $30 million, and the team will forfeit five first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA drafts. Leonard has been fined $700,000, but will not be suspended. The league, however, is suspending Ballmer, the team’s owner, from all league activities for one year.
It’s perhaps the harshest punishment in NBA history. Here’s what we know.
What did the Clippers do?
The official investigation report from the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz explicitly lays out why the organization was hit with such harsh penalties.
Throughout the 36-page document, investigators state the three individuals most responsible for the Clippers’ rule-breaking are team owner Steve Ballmer, president of business operations Gillian Zucker and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank. Among their transgressions:
- The Clippers were punished for circumventing the NBA salary cap before. The team was fined $250,000 in 2015 for trying to facilitate an endorsement deal for free agent DeAndre Jordan.
- The Clippers denied agreeing to requests from one of Leonard’s relatives for additional benefits prohibited under the CBA.
- The Clippers introduced Leonard to representatives of companies who later became corporate sponsors of the team and who signed endorsement deals with Leonard at almost the exact same time.
- The Clippers executives repeatedly delayed and attempted to obfuscate the NBA’s ability to obtain information about the case.
How does the punishment affect the Clippers’ future?
The Clippers roster over the next several years will be severely impacted by the NBA’s ruling.
Most important is the loss of five-first round draft picks − in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.
In addition, the team’s proposed trade sending Leonard to the Toronto Raptors is currently on hold.
If the trade goes through, L.A. will receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and two unprotected first-round picks, two second-rounders and a first-round pick swap in 2027. After that, roughly half of the Clippers’ cap space this season will be tied up in two players, guards Ingram and Darius Garland, who are set to make over $82 million combined this season according to Spotrac.
Is this the end of the Kawhi Leonard saga?
Maybe not.
Independent journalist Pablo Torre, whose reporting spurred the NBA’s investigation of the Clippers, said on his Sept. 2 “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast: “There is more to come than is in the NBA report … This is not everything.”
Torre pointed out that the NBA’s report did mention an unidentified second player, and that the league issued a statement acknowledging “more information will likely surface over time.”
Winners and losers of NBA’s Kawhi Leonard investigation
Certainly, Torre comes out as one of the biggest winners. His efforts struck a huge blow for investigative journalism, especially in the face of repeated criticism from NBA and media personalities.
Leonard himself seemingly got off easy, considering he is allowed to keep the millions he received for “sponsorship duties.”
The Clippers, on the other hand, paid a hefty price.