Bill Simmons doesn’t shy away from controversial comparisons, and his latest one about Kawhi Leonard’s alleged $28 million side deal with Aspirant is already sparking conversations across the NBA world. On his podcast, Simmons framed the ongoing saga with an analogy to one of the most infamous cases in American legal history: O.J. Simpson.
What Simmons means is that the NBA doesn’t need a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard to bring down punishment on Leonard or the Clippers.”
“Whatever can happen, losing draft picks, voiding the contract, whatever it is. This is basically the OJ civil trial versus the OJ trial.”
“You only need to kind of think something happened and have enough evidence to be like, I think that happened, so we’re doing this. The question is, this isn’t an actual trial. We’re not proving indisputably that you did this.”
“I don’t think they have to do that for the league to crack down and be like, dude, something smells with this. You gave 50 million to these guys, he’s getting 28 million to do nothing. Like you can say there’s no smoking gun, but something happened here and we’re punishing you. And I think that’s how this plays out.”
At the heart of the controversy is the claim that Leonard received $28 million in endorsement money from Aspirant, a shell company tied to figures allegedly connected with the Clippers’ front office.
The Clippers have denied wrongdoing, with owner Steve Ballmer even claiming they were “conned” by the company. Still, the optics are brutal. If proven true, this would represent a direct circumvention of the NBA’s salary cap system.
Simmons’ argument is that the league doesn’t need to find an email or text message showing Leonard orchestrated the deal. Instead, they only need to look at the money trail and ask a simple question: does this pass the smell test? If not, then the NBA has every incentive to act. The precedent could be severe, loss of draft picks, voided contracts, or even heavy financial penalties.
It’s also a reminder that leagues often operate under their own standards of justice. The NBA punished the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 with the largest fine in league history and forfeited draft picks for an illegal contract arrangement with Joe Smith. That punishment wasn’t about proving guilt in court, it was about the league sending a message.
For Simmons, this is where the Kawhi saga is headed. Even without a smoking gun, the NBA can say, we’ve seen enough.
And if that happens, Leonard and the Clippers could face consequences far greater than just public embarrassment.
Just like the O.J. civil trial reshaped the legacy of Simpson despite his criminal acquittal, the Kawhi situation may forever alter how the NBA polices its stars and its salary cap.
