On Wednesday, the NBA world received a jolt when it was announced that Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had found himself at the center of a controversy designed to help the team avoid the salary cap. The findings were made public by Pablo Torre, who took to his own account on X, formerly Twitter, to announce what he had uncovered.
“Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a “no-show job” with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer,” reported Torre.
“It was to circumvent the salary cap,” added one source.
Needless to say, fans on the social media platform were brimming about what could be coming up next for Leonard and the Clippers.
One fan brought up a similar situation with Joe Smith and the Minnesota Timberwolves from a quarter century ago.
“25 years ago, the Timberwolves were fined $3.5M, lost five straight 1st round picks, the Joe Smith contract was voided and the owner and VP were suspended because they tried to circumnavigate the salary cap. Do the right thing, NBA,” wrote the fan.
Others said that they suspected somethingl ike this was in the works from the very beginning.
“I called this as soon as he signed. Said he 100% is being paid outside of basketball to make up the money difference between staying with the Raps and going to LAC. Gross,” wrote one user.
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“Should probably be 5 or so years of draft picks taken away,” predicted one fan on Bluesky.
A strange time for the Clippers
LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) warms up before game five of the first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
If the reports about Leonard do turn out to be true, the Los Angeles Clippers could be facing a potentially catostrophic penalty from the NBA, if the Timberwolves' Joe Smith situation is any reference point.
Making matters worse for the Clippers is that Leonard is not often available to play for the team to begin with, constantly getting injured and unable to play in the playoffs (although he was healthy in this year's playoff loss vs the Denver Nuggets).
In any case, the Clippers will take the floor for the first time in the 2025-26 season on October 22 against the Utah Jazz.