Nov 3, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reacts at the end of the game against the Miami Heat at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Los Angeles Clippers‘ fight with the NBA over Kawhi Leonard’s salary cap circumvention scandal might not just end with appeals, lawsuits, and public statements. Patrick Bet-David thinks the franchise could retaliate in such a way that could expose a lot of similar behavior around the league and could potentially bring down the NBA itself.
Speaking on his podcast, Bet-David suggested that the Clippers could respond to their unprecedented punishment by investigating rival teams and surfacing similar cases, which involve players and off-court compensation.
“If the Clippers flip and say, ‘Oh, really? You’re going to do this to us? No problem.’ The Clippers now go hire investigators. You don’t think they’ve already done that? They’re going to go in, indirectly drop stories on three, five, ten other organizations that have done this with different players.”
“And so, if this goes through and this is public humiliation like this to the Clippers, I think what Tom is saying is correct. You could have a few other teams in the next six, 12, 24 months that may be dealing with a similar story like this, if not worse.”
“How about all the Golden State Warrior players? Wait, you mean to tell me other people haven’t creatively found a way to funnel money to players? Really? You don’t remember how Magic Johnson got 5% equity in the Lakers 40 years ago? I don’t know what the number was, but he got equity in the Lakers.”
“This was pre—like, you couldn’t do it anymore. But I think Magic got a ton of equity in the Lakers because everybody wanted Magic Johnson, and Jerry Buss helped him. What was it? Yeah, Magic Johnson sold his 4.5% stake in the Lakers October 2020 for roughly $27 to $30 million. By the way, you know what that 4.5% would have been worth today? $500 million.”
“But here’s what I’ll say. The Minnesota Timberwolves, when they went through this, they lost draft picks, then they lowered it. So they were supposed to lose five, they ended up only losing two. So I do think, as their lawyers come back to the NBA, you know what five first-round draft picks means? You don’t even have anything to trade for. You’re crushed on what you could do.”
That possibility could dramatically expand a scandal that has already been one of the biggest league office battles in NBA history. The Clippers were stripped of five first-round picks between 2029 and 2033, fined $30 million, and saw owner Steve Ballmer suspended for a year after the league’s investigation.
Pablo Torre had previously reported that Ballmer had a chance to negotiate a settlement with the NBA but chose not to, and that led to this historically severe punishment. Bet-David thinks that public humiliation could force the Clippers to show that they were not just alone in finding ways that would financially benefit players.
The important distinction is that Bet-David is just speculating about what the Clippers could uncover. There is still no evidence that any team or organization has engaged in illegal or prohibited salary cap circumvention.
NBA insider Michael Scotto believes that the fallout could have a chilling effect around the league.
“I think for Steve Ballmer, I mean, this isn’t the first time he’s got in this kind of situation before. And I think that’s also a difference too. Plus, I believe he’s the richest owner in the NBA. So, I mean, you kind of have a bullseye on your back from that perspective. People looked at, like, when Jalen Brunson signed for less than that, like, raised an eyebrow.”
“But for him, like, he took the security at the time. And he also made a personal sacrifice to help them with the cap and make the team around him better. And it ultimately paid off for him in spades because they won a championship, which, as you know, in New York, you’re immortalized.”
“So, to me, it’s, is the juice worth the squeeze? I think owners and agents and people are going to have to be careful down the line going forward. Like with free agency, you didn’t see deals getting announced at 6:01 p.m., for example, or 12:01, you know, whenever the time is. And you had to wait a little bit.”
“I think there will be some maneuvering around the edges in that way to be extra cautious. But business is business, and it’s still going to get done. Let’s be clear.”
The Clippers’ position became more explosive because Ballmer is reportedly considering legal action against the NBA. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have reportedly opened a separate investigation into the allegations surrounding the Leonard endorsement arrangements, which also increases the stakes.
The league might have hoped the punishment would close the book on the Clippers’ scandal, but instead, the opposite just might be happening. If the Clippers decide to challenge the league publicly, legally, and through aggressive investigation, this Kawhi Leonard saga could stop being just a Clippers story.
It could become a league-wide reckoning on how teams, owners, agents, and star players have operated around the salary cap for decades.