NBA Execs Want Clippers Docked Multiple First-Round Picks, Kawhi Leonard Contract Voided

The Athletic’s Pablo Torre dropped a bombshell report earlier this month during his “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast, unveiling that Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had signed a $28 million endorsement deal for “tree brokerage” Aspiration to help Los Angeles circumvent the NBA salary cap.

NBA Personnel Seeking Harsh Punishment

Leonard reportedly didn’t do any work for Aspiration, leading to speculation that the $28 million endorsement agreement was a route for Leonard to earn additional money on top of his NBA salary that would have assisted the Clippers in circumventing the salary cap.

On Thursday, NBA insider Jake Fischer said he spoke to “many people from various NBA outposts who were openly outraged and likewise convinced that the Clippers are poised to receive some type of penalty.”

They want the league to throw the book at Los Angeles to deter other teams from committing similar offenses in the future. A harsher punishment would help prevent such alleged schemes from reoccurring.

“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,” Fischer wrote.

“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.”

League Investigating Claim To Find Any Wrongdoing

Torre also reported Thursday that Dennis J. Wong, a Clippers limited partner, invested $1.99 million in Aspiration nine days before the company made a $1.75 million payment to Leonard.

The payment to Leonard was late, according to the payment schedule, as the company was reportedly having financial troubles before ultimately declaring bankruptcy.

Aspiration filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

The league is currently investigating the claim to determine if there was any impropriety. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said it would be up to the league to prove wrongdoing by the Clippers.

“I think, as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges,” Silver said during his annual news conference at the conclusion of the league’s board of governors meetings.

The NBA has hired New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to handle the investigation.