Kawhi Leonard has gone relatively unscathed when the NBA punished the Los Angeles Clippers and all the individuals involved in the salary cap circumvention scandal between the franchise and the former two-time NBA champion.
Leonard received a $700,000 fine from the NBA, but was not suspended, nor was his contract voided.
With Leonard’s meager punishment, NBA analyst and insider Brian Windhorst of ESPN shared his sentiments, airing some harsh statements Leonard, who will now play for the Toronto Raptors, while the Clippers absorbed most of the punishment.
“I would advise him not to use the words ‘integrity’ and ‘respect’ anymore,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up with Shams Charania. “He collected tens of millions of dollars in endorsement deals and was fined $700K in restitution. It’s the greatest investment you could ever make.”
“It’s better than a Ponzi scheme that the Aspiration guy was running, I’ll tell you that, because this was a great deal for him. Now he’s very likely going to get traded to Toronto, where he’s going to get a contract extension of tens of millions. He’s going to profit from this enormously. And my guess is on opening night, the Toronto Raptors fans will cheer him because he won them a championship. He can’t get on the plane to Toronto fast enough.”
Kawhi Leonard Gets A Slap In The Wrist From The NBA
The Clippers took most of the punishment from the NBA.
The NBA stripped the Clippers of five future first-round draft picks spanning consecutively from 2029 through 2033 and slapped the franchise with a $30 million fine.
The front office faced heavy punishments, with billionaire owner Steve Ballmer suspended from all league and team activities for one year, President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker suspended without pay for one year, and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank suspended without pay for six months.
Meanwhile, the anticipated trade sending Kawhi Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors is on track to be finalized in the coming days, following the conclusion of a massive NBA investigation.
The trade, which was agreed upon on June 30 but put on a two-month limbo, cleared its final hurdle when the league announced its ruling on a year-long salary-cap circumvention probe.
The Raptors intentionally delayed finalizing the transaction until the NBA clarified whether Leonard would face a heavy suspension or contract voiding. With the league clearing him to play without any suspension, the path is wide open for his return to Toronto, the city he led to the 2019 NBA championship.
Leonard is expected to sign a contract extension with Toronto worth up to $123.7 million, with insider reports indicating he views this move as an opportunity to finish his career.
The Clippers received Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round draft picks, a pick swap, and two second-round picks from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Leonard, whom they got in the summer of 2019.
Why Kawhi Leonard Escaped Major Punishments
NBA insider Shams Charania clarified why the league did not pull the axe on Kawhi Leonard.
According to Charania, Leonard did not know of the salary cap circumvention deals his former management made.
“And the investigation, I do have to make it clear, did show that Kawhi Leonard did not have any knowledge of this salary cap circumvention that was going on. He had essentially given all of the power to his uncle Dennis Robertson for years now, and Dennis Robertson is now banned from all basketball business moving forward,” Charania said.
Now, Leonard is safe from any penalties and can move forward in his career with the Raptors.
Kawhi Leonard Receives Harsh Comments After Being Barely Punished By NBA