Just shortly after ESPN published a report that stated the NBA could not find any evidence of Steve Ballmer and the Clippers paying Kawhi Leonard through sponsors, the league’s chief communications officer, Mike Bass, issued a clarification notice.
“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded,” Bass stated.
Baxter Holmes, Ramona Shelbourne and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN cited ‘three people with knowledge of discussions between the two sides in the recent days’ as their source of information. But the league feels that they have been misguided.
Their report also suggests that the focus of the investigation has now shifted from focusing on the transactions to determining whether introduction by the team to its sponsors counts as an attempt to circumvent the salary cap.
Additionally, they also want to determine if the Clippers simply failed to complete their duty of supervising their employees, but are yet to determine which rule they have violated in this process.
Leaked evidence also suggested that the Clippers were coordinating almost all conversations between Kawhi Leonard and Daktronics leading up to their alleged ‘secret deal.’
This report has essentially suggested that Steve Ballmer and his team are edging closer to being declared innocent of all wrongdoing here, but the league claims that there are significant inaccuracies in their claims.
While the league refuted ESPN’s report, they have yet to provide their own conclusions and findings of their investigation. Rumors suggest that we might need to wait until 2027 for the league to reveal its verdict on the investigation.
What Does This Mean For Kawhi Leonard?
Considering that the imposition of severe punishments is still possible on the Clippers, this puts Kawhi Leonard’s future in a complicated position since his trade to the Raptors has been agreed upon but put on hold until the league concludes its investigation.
The league had stipulated that if the Raptors completed the trade before the investigation concludes, they would assume the risk of the share in punishments that could potentially be imposed on Leonard.
Since the Raptors did not want to assume that risk, it is realistically possible that Kawhi Leonard starts the season with the Clippers despite having been traded to Toronto.
Leonard has displayed his confidence in the fact that the trade will go through, as he has already begun showing up at the Raptors’ Summer League games so far.
It will be very fascinating to see what the final findings are of the league’s investigation. But for now, it is not safe to assume that the Clippers have been declared innocent of all the wrongdoings they have been accused of.
