The LA Clippers primarily acted as a “energy agent” for Kawhi Leonard by serving to dealer endorsement alternatives throughout the 2020 and 2021 plandemic interval, in line with ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“I had one government inform me final evening, Greeney, that the Clippers had been primarily appearing like an influence agent brokering offers for Kawhi Leonard’s enterprise consultant on the time and Dennis Robertson. And that’s hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of money movement coming into Kawhi Leonard at a cut-off date within the calendar the place we had been within the pandemic in 2020 and 2021,” Charania mentioned on ESPN’s Get Up.
Charania added that Leonard had obtained tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} by means of endorsement agreements by the center of 2021, regardless of having no required appearances or obligations tied to these offers.
The NBA’s independent investigation found that the Clippers initiated and facilitated enterprise alternatives between Leonard and 4 firms that had enterprise relationships with the group: Aspiration Companions, Boingo Wi-fi, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance coverage.
In response to the league, the Clippers induced these firms to enter endorsement agreements with Leonard by providing them staff enterprise. The group additionally paid private bills involving Leonard and his representatives.
Charania emphasised that the investigation didn’t discover Leonard personally conscious of the salary-cap circumvention.
“And the investigation — I do must make it clear — did present that Kawhi Leonard didn’t have any information of this wage cap circumvention that was happening,” Charania mentioned. “He had primarily given the entire energy to his uncle Dennis Robertson for years now, and Dennis Robertson is now banned from all basketball enterprise transferring ahead.”
Robertson was banned for 5 years from conducting enterprise with NBA groups and associates on behalf of gamers or different league personnel. The NBA additionally discovered that he pressured the Clippers to assist safe off-court earnings alternatives for Leonard.
The league nonetheless decided that Leonard violated the circumvention guidelines by means of actions taken on his behalf by Robertson and mentioned Leonard didn’t reimburse private bills paid by the Clippers. Leonard was fined $700,000.
The Clippers obtained essentially the most extreme organizational penalties. Los Angeles should forfeit its first-round picks within the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 NBA Drafts and pay a $30 million positive.
Proprietor Steve Ballmer was suspended from all league and staff actions for one yr, whereas president of enterprise operations Gillian Zucker obtained a one-year unpaid suspension. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended with out pay for six months.
The NBA additionally positioned the Clippers underneath a five-year compliance and monitoring program.
The penalties arrive as Leonard has already left the franchise. Los Angeles traded him to the Toronto Raptors after the Clippers completed 42-40 and ninth within the Western Convention throughout the 2025-26 season.
Leonard averaged 27.9 factors, 6.4 rebounds and three.6 assists in 65 video games final season, incomes All-NBA Second Workforce honors and ending seventh in MVP voting.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned the severity of the punishment displays the seriousness of the violations, whereas the league said that its settlement with the NBPA makes the penalties closing and binding.
