Shams Charania shed light on why Kawhi Leonard did not face a voided contract or suspension after the league’s investigation into cap circumvention around the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard was hit with a $700,000 fine, but that penalty landed far lighter than the punishment handed to the Clippers. The team lost five draft picks, a significant blow for a franchise that now has to move forward without that kind of control in the draft.
For Leonard, the result looks even softer because he had already been traded to the Toronto Raptors before the penalties came down. That left the Clippers carrying the heavier burden while Leonard’s discipline amounted to a fine.
Charania explained the league’s position in a phone interview with TSN: "The reality is it's hard for the league because of how the collective bargaining agreement is, and there is a players' union. So, having to negotiate with the PA, they had to have every form of evidence if they were going to go down the path of voiding Kawhi Leonard's contract or administering a suspension,"
He added: "When you look at the report, you know, clearly the league didn't. The one person that was banned was Dennis Robertson... So the league, if you are going to go toward voiding a player's contract, you have to have a stone-cold case, otherwise you're dealing with a ton of real litigation and real arbitration through the NBPA."
The Clippers now have to rebuild around the reality of those lost picks and find another way to reshape the roster. They still have the Los Angeles market working in their favor, but the punishment leaves them in a tougher spot.
Leonard, meanwhile, is in Toronto, the city where he won his second NBA championship. He’ll be playing for a team that has a strong chance of making a deep run in the playoffs, while the Clippers deal with the fallout.
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Clippers Punishment Fight Just Became All About Their Draft Future
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Steve Ballmer first sounded ready to test the league in court, but his latest message on social media marked a clear turn toward acceptance and moving on. That leaves the Clippers in a familiar kind of waiting game, one that has been seen before around the league, including in Minnesota, where draft picks were later returned after the team chose to take its punishment rather than drag the fight through the legal system. [Read more 🡒]