The Kawhi Leonard saga is dominating NBA storylines in the typically slow month of September.
A bombshell report into alleged salary cap circumvention by the Clippers that tied Kawhi Leonard to a “no-show” endorsement deal with a now-bankrupt company, Aspiration, that was a Clippers sponsor and featured Steve Ballmer as a top investor is the biggest talking point around the league, with other teams waiting to see what kind of punishment the Clippers could face for what would be the biggest cap circumvention scandal in league history.
The NBA is in the midst of its investigation, but the challenge for the league is that while a thorough investigation can take months to complete, fans and other teams want a resolution sooner than later. Ballmer and the Clippers have denied any impropriety, insisting they were the victims of a fraud as well, but the mounting evidence compiled by “Pablo Torre Finds Out” and other outlets has made it difficult for anyone to see how it was anything but shady business being done.
Adam Silver has spoken publicly a few times since the investigation began, including on Tuesday at the Front Office Sports conference, via Mike Vorkunov. Silver insisted he doesn’t know whether it was a no-show deal involving Leonard or what the details were given the investigation just began, but he vowed that the league will “get to the bottom of it.”
Adam Silver comments on potential punishments for Clippers, Kawhi Leonard: ‘My powers are very broad’
James Herbert
This follows similar statements from Silver at the Board of Governors meeting, where he insisted that the league would be thorough and that the punishment, if they find the Clippers broke CBA rules, would be stiff, noting “my powers are broad.” At the same time, he was cautious to point out that burden of proof is on the league to find enough evidence to link Ballmer, Aspiration and Leonard in a purposeful deal to direct funds to Leonard to circumvent the salary cap.
While that may be the case, the fact that this investigation was, effectively, done for them to a degree on a public platform by Torre makes it exceedingly difficult for the league to avoid serious backlash if their investigation comes up short of the level of proof deemed sufficient to hand down a heavy punishment to Ballmer and the Clippers.
