While the Dallas Mavericks are steadily approaching training camp, there has been an interesting scandal arising on the West Coast. LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard was recently announced to be under investigation by the NBA due to potentially being funneled nearly $30 million under the table through a company called Aspiration that Clippers governor Steve Ballmer has invested heavily in.
While this is still an ongoing investigation by the league, Leonard and the Clippers could be penalized tremendously if these allegations are confirmed. Many insiders don’t think this penalization would be so hefty that Leonard gets suspended longer than a season or gets banned from the league, but the possibility of Leonard’s current contract getting voided by the league seems to be a plausible punishment if the league confirms these allegations.
This would be a wild turn of events for all 29 other teams in the league this late into the free agency cycle, as this would put one of the best players in the league on the open market with almost no teams having any cap space at this juncture. Who knows if teams would be more abrasive to try to create room to sign Leonard to a new deal in this scenario, but if he’d somehow be willing to sign on a minimum deal, the Mavericks should do anything in their power to try to add him to their squad next season.
Mavericks must try to add Leonard if his contract gets voided
Even if Leonard were willing to join Dallas somehow, do take into account there’d be a great possibility of him being suspended for a decent chunk of next season, though, he’s still playing at an All-NBA level and is coming off one of his most healthy seasons since his championship with the Toronto Raptors. The Mavericks have a few tweeners at their wing spot, so Leonard would be yet another bigger-bodied and defensive-minded wing to add alongside Cooper Flagg and P.J. Washington, which would fortify Dallas’ frontline to the point that they would maul opposing wings and bigs defensively.
Even at 34 years old, Leonard is still playing at an elite level, and there’s enough compensatory offensive support on this Mavericks team for him not to have to expend too much of a workload as a primary creator, especially once Kyrie Irving come back. When a player of Leonard’s caliber hits the open market and can be potentially signed for far less than he’s worth, then a presumptive playoff team like the Mavericks must do anything they can to try and bring him in, as this would be a once in a blue moon type of opportunity.
It’s undeniable that Leonard would thrust the Mavericks into immediate contenders, even at the national level, where more analysts have been skeptical over this proposition. Even if Leonard and Irving missed a fair chunk of the season, the Mavericks would have one of the most dynamic lineups in the NBA come playoff time, and they’d be hard-pressed to get beat by teams that don’t have multiple shot-creators from the guard spot.
It must be taken into account that the Mavericks would have their fair share of bidders to go up against if they wanted to acquire Leonard’s services, and it would truly be a miraculous feat if he chose to come to the Mavericks over all other suitors. There’s still a good chance Leonard ultimately stays with the Clippers and the NBA doesn’t find anything compromising in their investigation, but this fringe possibility could become a lot more real for Mavericks fans if Leonard hits the open market.