It could take weeks for the NBA’s ongoing Aspiration scandal to conclude, but executives around the league remain unconvinced of the Clippers‘ innocence. According to the Ringer’s Howard Beck, the sentiment from rival teams is that the Clippers will pay a major price for a clear violation of CBA rules regarding Kawhi Leonard.
“None of this is normal, according to people around the league. ‘It reeks,’ said a former player who has also worked in a variety of front office roles,” wrote Beck. “The dollar figures alone are ‘extreme,’ said another former team executive, who added that the ‘no-show’ element was ‘a huge red flag’ and ‘smells the most in this whole thing.'”
The nature of the NBA’s punishment will likely depend on whether they’re able to find concrete evidence of wrongdoing, but they don’t necessarily need a “smoking gun” to take action against the Clippers. Many executives believe there’s already more than enough to conclude the franchise is guilty.
“The report that the deal would be void if Leonard left the Clippers sounds downright damning,” added Beck. “As does the quote from the unnamed former Aspiration employee who said that the deal was expressly conceived ‘to circumvent the salary cap.’ The initial reaction around the league to that report? ‘They’re fucked,’ said one team executive. ‘That’s what most people think.'”
The Clippers have come out strong to deny the allegations, and Steve Ballmer himself even gave an interview to dispute the entire story. While they claim that the accusations are “provably false,” the Clippers haven’t shown enough evidence to quiet their rivals’ doubts and rage.
“As one team exec said, it’s ‘stretching credulity’ to believe that Aspiration acted on its own, that a start-up would hand a player tens of millions without requiring anything in return, or go to such great lengths unless the team had asked for it,” wrote Beck.
Between the details of Kawhi’s Aspiration deal, Ballmer’s ties to the company as a major investor, and the previous demands made by Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, in the past, all combine to make the Clippers look complicit.
What’s even worse is that the Kawhi Leonard era has been an utter failure so far, with just three playoff series wins since he joined the team. For a guy who constantly misses games, fails to get his team deep into the playoffs, and does nothing to market or promote the franchise, it raises the question of whether Kawhi is worth the drama.
If found guilty, the penalties could cripple the franchise for years and tarnish its legacy for the foreseeable future. With the burden of proof now on the Clippers, they are facing massive pressure to disprove their involvement and show some kind of evidence to support that this was no grand conspiracy.
With the way things are trending now, however, the entire league is expecting to see a severe punishment that will set a precedent for this type of offense in the future. The Clippers could become an example, and many executives are already calling on the NBA to bring the hammer down hard.
At this point, the Clippers’ reputation may already be beyond repair. Even if they manage to avoid the harshest penalties, the damage is done in the eyes of rival teams and fans who now view the Leonard deal as tainted. The only question left is how hard the NBA decides to hit them, and whether this scandal will finally mark the end of the Kawhi Leonard era in Los Angeles.
