LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36)
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LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36)
One of the issues that has quietly loomed over the NBA in recent weeks has been the standing accusation concerning the LA Clippers and star forward Kawhi Leonard, stemming from a report by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast which alleged that the Clippers and Leonard had a side contract through a company called Aspiration that was illegal under NBA rules because it circumvented the salary cap.
The league has been conducting an investigation of the Leonard deal, and there are still any number of outcomes that could result. But one is of particular interest to the Los Angeles Lakers: It’s possible the NBA could terminate the remainder of Leonard’s contract, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
It’s not quite clear how that would work–the NBA players union would surely object if it meant that Leonard would not be paid the $50 million still on his 2026-27 contract–but one possibility is that Leonard could get the rest of his salary paid but still be struck off from the Clippers.
Or the contract could be cut off completely, setting up a court challenge.
Lakers Could Benefit if Clippers and Kawhi Leonard Hit With Stiff Penalties
In either scenario, Leonard would be very much available for the Lakers–and for others–to sign him to a minimum contract. Ending Leonard’s contract would be a stiff penalty, especially if Silver sees the NBA as needing to thread a needle between punishing the Clippers without overly punishing Leonard himself (and drawing the wrath of the union in doing so).
League insider Tom Haberstroh of Yahoo Sports says nixing the remaining year of Leonard’s deal is one arrow in commissioner Adam Silver’s quiver. It’s comparable to the Joe Smith situation in 1998, when Smith had agreed to a series of short-term contracts with the Timberwolves, with the promise of a bigger deal at the end of those contracts.
That helped circumvent the salary cap, and was illegal. Commissioner David Stern terminated Smith’s deal in addition to fining and docking draft picks from Minnesota, a punishment that was upheld in arbitration.
Kawhi Leonard Could Be a Sudden Free Agent
Haberstroh said this week that a similar invalidation for Kawhi Leonard could lead to a frenzy for his services, in which the Lakers would be one of the candidates to come out a winner by signing Leonard.
Said Haberstroh: “Maybe it’s a case where Adam Silver levies some sort of punishment, whether it’s forcing Kawhi Leonard’s contract to be invalidated. And I think that would be one of the things that is on the table, because that is what David Stern did with the Joe Smith cap circumvention with the Minnesota Timberwolves decades ago.
“The interesting thing on that is it provides a conundrum where I think if Kawhi Leonard is now a free agent, you’re now going to see a frenzy for his services, with the likes of the Lakers, with the likes of the Golden State Warriors or the New York Knicks—they would try to go get Kawhi Leonard at this stage as a free agent. That would create more hysteria and chaos around the league.”
Lakers Will Be Aggressive in Free Agency
Of course, the Lakers have a number of offseason possibilities piling up, whether it’s pursuing restricted free agents like Walker Kessler of the Jazz or Peyton Watson of the Nuggets, or trying to use their cap space as leverage for a trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Even if the league does not invalidate Leonard’s contract, he is a potential trade candidate, too.
But if the Lakers had the opportunity to add Leonard on a veteran minimum contract–about $2.5 million–they could still be aggressive with the rest of their $40 million in cap space, and have Leonard on board, to boot.