A new report claims teams around the NBA are readying to create their “own version of shell companies” unless Adam Silver drops a huge penalty on the Los Angeles Clippers for their illegal salary scheme to sign Kawhi Leonard.
If you were in an NBA news blackout the last couple of weeks, you missed one of the biggest scandals in league history. Last week, investigative journalist Pablo Torre uncovered documents showing Clippers owner Steve Ballmer helped fund a financial services company that paid Kawhi Leonard close to $30 million over four years to do no work for them.
It looks like the environmentally driven company named Aspiration was created to pay the six-time All-Star a boatload of side money to help the franchise win his free agent sweepstakes in 2019. Based on the evidence, it seems like the biggest salary scandal in North American sports history, and it should lead to a huge penalty for the Clippers.
The NBA has begun an investigation following the report. But on Thursday, NBA insider Jake Fischer explained in a new post on the Stein Line that many around the league believe there is enough evidence to hand out a punishment now and not wait for the results of an inquiry.
NBA teams want a punishment for the Clippers now, not later
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Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
“There has been a constant conversation in league circles ever since — sparked by what appears on Page 341 of the league’s newest Collective Bargaining Agreement under Article XIII titled ‘Circumvention’ — in the belief that punishment can be levied against a team or player if a violation of unauthorized agreements can ‘be proven by direct OR circumstantial evidence.'” Fischer wrote.
Related: Clippers Penalty for Kawhi Leonard Circumvention – Why It Will Start With at Least 5 First Round Picks
However, Silver surprisingly revealed at league meetings this week, he is in no rush to drop the hammer on Ballmer and the Clippers. “In the case of the league, we and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence. I think whether mere appearance, just by the way those words read, I think as a matter of fundamental fairness, I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety,” he said.
Could rivals copy the Los Angeles Clippers circumvention scheme?
It is looking like there is no guarantee the Clippers will receive the biggest punishment in league history that many around the NBA feel they’ve earned. And that could open up a salary cap circumvention Pandora’s box, according to sources Fischer has spoken with.
“I’ve spoken to multiple team strategists who told me, with chests puffed, that if the Clippers aren’t docked multiple first-round picks — if Leonard’s contract isn’t voided while his salary obligations remain on the Clippers’ books — they will feel emboldened to seek out their own version of shell companies to provide additional compensation to their players,” writes Fischer.
Kawhi Leonard contract: Three years, $149 million
If every team began to create shell companies to circumvent the salary cap and pay players extra money outside their official contracts, it could create a financial disaster. The idea should put a lot more pressure on Silver to not fool around, and hand down a penalty that avoids a messy situation later.
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After earning his journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos served as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sucka ... More about Jason Burgos