The NBA’s investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers’ salary cap scheme ended with the team facing the harshest punishment in league history while star forward Kawhi Leonard walked away with a fraction of the cost — and a trade back to the Toronto Raptors.
The league fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped the team of five first-round draft picks, and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year. Investigators found the team used sponsors including Aspiration and Daktronics to funnel millions of dollars to Leonard and his uncle, Dennis Robertson, in an under-the-table arrangement. The case has also drawn federal and SEC scrutiny, and Robertson received a five-year ban from the NBA.
Leonard’s penalty was $700,000 in restitution. He received no suspension. He also waived a $7.45 million trade kicker to complete his move to Toronto, but that still leaves him earning close to $50 million a year while the organization absorbs the bulk of the punishment.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called the disparity a disgrace on First Take.
“For him to cause all the trouble that he’s caused for this organization and to walk away with nothing more than having to surrender $700,000 worth of restitution is a crime,” Smith said. “Kawhi Leonard … he’s a gangster.”
Smith laid out the sequence plainly: Leonard broke the rules, got caught, and let the front office take the fall.
“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,” Smith said. “I mean, [expletive], how much better can it get than that?”
By the time the NBA’s findings became public, Leonard had already claimed ignorance of the arrangement and left for Canada without missing a game. The Clippers, meanwhile, are left absorbing a nine-figure hit in fines and lost draft capital, with their owner sidelined for a full season.
Smith’s verdict: Leonard came out of the scandal with everything to gain and almost nothing to lose.
