How Kawhi Leonard escaped NBAs hammer in Clippers scandal
The Clippers received one of the harshest punishments in NBA history.Kawhi Leonard did not.Despite being found in violation of the same salary-cap rules, he escaped with comparatively little damage.That contrast has become the biggest question following the league’s salary-cap circumvention ruling, which cost Los Angeles five first-round picks and hit owner Steve Ballmer with a $30 million penalty.
Ballmer, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker were also suspended.Leonard owes $700,000 in restitution.He wasn’t suspended.
More importantly, his contract survived.The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and the findings of its yearlong investigation help explain how Leonard landed so softly.The league hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate how the Clippers helped generate lucrative off-court opportunities for their star.Under Article XIII of the CBA, players can be fined, forced to return improper benefits or have their contracts voided for circumvention.The provision allowing suspensions of up to one year, however, specifically applies to team personnel.So Leonard avoiding suspension isn’t the biggest surprise.The real escape was keeping his contract.And that may come down to what investigators could — and could not — prove Leonard personally knew.Wachtell found Leonard violated the CBA through Dennis Robertson, his uncle and former business representative, who repeatedly pushed Clippers officials to create outside income opportunities for Leonard.Leonard was hardly unaware of the money.He signed lucrative endorsement deals generated through those efforts and personally requested changes to the cash and equity structure of his proposed Aspiration agreement.But the investigation draws an important line between knowing the deals existed and knowing how the Clippers were making them happen.Wachtell did not find that Leonard personally knew the Clippers were directing business toward companies in exchange for benefits flowing back to him.
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