NBA Shreds ESPN Report That Clippers Skirted Salary Cap For Kawhi Leonard, Social Media Has Thoughts
The league is examining whether Clippers officials violated salary-cap rules by introducing Leonard to sponsors, while Toronto’s planned trade remains on hold.
- On Monday, the NBA criticized an ESPN report claiming the league found no evidence of salary cap circumvention by the Los Angeles Clippers regarding superstar Kawhi Leonard, calling the article inaccurate.
- The 11-month probe centers on whether the Clippers funneled money to Leonard through team sponsors, including the now-bankrupt Aspiration, whose co-founder Joe Sanberg was sentenced in June for a $248 million fraud scheme.
- Toronto Raptors officials confirmed the trade for Leonard remains on hold as the team assumes risk of potential penalties, while the Clippers continue to deny wrongdoing regarding the $176 million contract extension.
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expects the investigation to conclude before the 2026-27 season begins on October 20, though the league has not specified which parts of the reporting it contests.
- Investigators are examining whether the Clippers committed a "failure to supervise" by introducing Leonard to team sponsors, potentially leaving the organization vulnerable to penalties despite the lack of proof of direct secret payments.
19 Articles
19 Articles
NBA Criticizes ESPN Report Claiming League Found No Evidence Clippers Funneled Money to Leonard
The NBA on Aug. 17 criticized a report by ESPN claiming the league found no evidence in its investigation that the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard. “ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation—for which the NBA declined to cooperate—contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded,” NBA spokesman Mike …
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NBA Shreds ESPN Report That Clippers Skirted Salary Cap For Kawhi Leonard, Social Media Has Thoughts
Source: After an 11-month investigation the NBA has found that there was no proof that Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer used team sponsors to secretly pay superstar forward Kawhi Leonard. Rather than finding evidence of a direct scheme to secretly funnel money to Kawhi Leonard, ESPN reported that the NBA’s investigation has reportedly focused on the Clippers’ relationship with the companies that sponsored the star. According to ESPN, mul…
No proof Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money to Kawhi Leonard – report
The Clippers have maintained that they did not 'negotiate or dictate' the terms of Kawhi Leonard's endorsement deals and that a player-company business relationship does not prove any salary-cap circumvention
Kawhi-Clippers Saga Puts Player-Sponsor Deals in Crosshairs
The Los Angeles Clippers this week asserted that a team making introductions between players and team partners for potential player endorsement deals not only doesn’t violate any NBA rule but is “both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives.” That “ordinary practice”—which in the past has involved stars such as […]
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