The biggest story of the offseason continues to grow in size. As Pablo Torre drips new information, the more guilty the LA Clippers look for possibly circumventing the salary cap through a shady now-bankrupt company to keep Kawhi Leonard happy.
The Clippers have handed out payments to the ‘Aspirations’ company, which signed Leonard to a lucrative no-show sponsorship job. The popular theory — with the paper trail to back it up — going around is that LA did this to sweeten the deal for the multi-time All-Star to sign and remain there. A lot more nuanced layers are involved that should be viewed on Torre’s YouTube channel.
After Torre broke the story, the NBA took action. The league has opened an investigation into the Leonard-Clippers saga. While Clippers owner Steve Ballmer continues to deny the allegations, there’s enough smoke from Torre’s findings to at least ponder the possibility of a severe punishment for cap space circumvention. That’s a big no-no in the NBA and the consequences could be dire.
The Clippers have already lost control of their first-round picks in the 2020s because of a blockbuster 2019 deal that landed them Paul George. They mortgaged their future to no avail as the Leonard-George tandem peaked at one Western Conference Finals appearance.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder won an NBA championship with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Both All-NBA players were directly added from the trade package they received from LA. Thanks to their gutsy decision, OKC is set up to remain a title contender for the next five-plus years.
But back to the Clippers’ potential punishment. Could LA’s under-the-table money cost them its draft picks in 2030 and beyond? Ultimately, setting their franchise back even further? A lot is still unknown. We’re in the infancy stages of an investigation that will likely span months. There are several variables in play that make it foolish to predict what could happen. But let’s visit imagination land and say the worst assumptions are materialized.
The Clippers being forced to forfeit their future first-round draft picks is certainly on the table. So is Ballmer being suspended. But what about Leonard? There have been conversations around his three-year, $149.5 million contract. That’s obviously on the extreme side of the scale and would be a doomsday scenario in LA.
Who knows if it could even happen, but that hasn’t stopped folks from chatting about it online. Let’s just say, for the sake of imagination land, it happens. And let’s just say, for the sake of imagination land, it’s enforced starting in the upcoming 2025-26 regular season. Would that suddenly create the most unconventional free-agent extravaganza the NBA has ever seen? Probably.
Even though his best years are behind him and habitually injured, Leonard would still be courted by several teams. The 34-year-old averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season in limited action. Those are still All-Star-esque numbers if he plays enough games.
Even though it’s September and not July, NBA teams would line up to add Leonard. He’d completely change the dynamics of any team he joins — even this late into the offseason, where he’d cause his new squad to reshuffle everything at the last minute.
Now, entertaining this thought exercise, should the Thunder be interested in Leonard? Especially if he’s willing to sign on a veteran minimum or a salary akin to that? While it’d be epic NBA storytelling — after all, he unintentionally helped them win a championship by pressuring LA to give up its future for George — the answer is a definitive no.
As you can see from the last month, Leonard isn’t worth the headache. The Thunder have carefully crafted a team-first culture over the years that has led them to an NBA championship. They wouldn’t risk contaminating that by whatever baggage comes along with the 34-year-old. Especially when he’s not reliable to stay on the court and wouldn’t even be an upgrade over Jalen Williams.
You can’t risk disrupting that for a reward that only makes the team marginally better in the best-case scenario. Let another team worry about the logistics of a Leonard addition. The Thunder just had one of the greatest seasons ever and will run it back with mostly the same roster. No reason to fix something that’s not broken.
It’d be a cool fit on paper and a funny victory lap over the Clippers, but it makes zero basketball sense. That said, it was worth the time to chew on the hypothetical and dissect the realism behind it. But some basic critical thinking skills can see how faulty it’d be.