The pressure is building on Adam Silver and the NBA to come down hard on the Clippers. According to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, rival team executives are demanding severe penalties for the franchise after revelations about Kawhi Leonard’s Aspiration deal, warning that anything less could embolden others to follow suit.
“I’ve spoken to multiple team strategists, for example, who told me, with chests puffed, that if the Clippers aren’t docked multiple first-round picks, if Leonard’s contract isn’t voided while his salary obligations remain on the Clippers’ books, they will feel emboldened to seek out their own version of shell companies to provided additional compensation to their players,” reported The Stein Line.
The CBA is designed to give each team a fair and equal opportunity to chase and sign their designated players. There’s a set maximum on player contracts and a salary cap that’s supposed to give them all the same financial restrictions. Going around these rules is not only prohibited, but it also threatens the very integrity of the league.
It’s why salary cap circumvention has been described as one of the cardinal sins of the NBA. It counts as cheating in that it gives the guilty team a major advantage over the competition. Specifically, it allows rich owners like Ballmer to outbid his peers by granting compensation in ways that don’t count against the cap.
As the richest owner in the NBA, Ballmer has the ability to spend resources like nobody else can, and it’s reasonable to assume he’d spend a small chunk of it to ensure the loyalty of his team’s franchise player. Of course, without verifiable proof either way, we have to let the investigation play out before we know how the NBA will respond.
Going back to the 2000 Joe Smith case, the NBA had a paper trail that revealed the full nature of the agreement. It resulted in one of the largest fines of all time in the NBA ($3.5 million), as well as a hoard of draft picks and the nullification of Smith’s contract.
For a penalty that severe, the NBA will be looking for proof that the Clippers used Aspiration as a front to pay Kawhi. So far, the evidence is pretty damning, even if it’s not definitive. Not only was Kawhi paid millions to effectively do nothing, but it turns out that Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong also “invested” in Aspiration while they were running late on their payments to Kawhi. Game logs show that Kawhi was sidelined for a stretch with “knee stiffness” during this time, and only returned to finish the season when Aspiration followed through on what they owed.
Until the NBA decides on punishment, the entire league is watching closely. If the Clippers escape with only a fine, it could open the floodgates for other wealthy owners to exploit similar loopholes. After all, if Ballmer could get away with it, why can’t they?
If, on the other hand, Adam Silver hands down a severe ruling, it would send a clear message that the integrity of the salary cap is not negotiable. His conclusion here will be telling and could define how teams do business with players for years to come.
