The NBA’s investigation into allegations the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard might be a long way from a resolution.
The probe could potentially drag into 2027 if the parties disagree on the findings or any settlement proposal that punishes the Clippers, sources told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
The National Basketball Players Association will take the league to arbitration if it feels the league issues punishments without enough evidence, Holmes reports.
The investigation has held up an agreed-upon trade that would send Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and draft picks. Had the deal been completed before the end of the inquiry, the Raptors would have risked taking on potential penalties involving Leonard, including a suspension or voiding of his contract.
The Clippers and Raptors opted to pause the Leonard deal, although each club said it expects the trade to eventually be completed.
In mid-July, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he wanted the investigation to be completed “this summer.” During the NBA Finals, Silver stated he expected the investigation would wrap up soon. The law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz has been overseeing the probe since last September.
NBPA executive director David Kelly said earlier in July that he hadn’t seen any indication that Wachtell Lipton had uncovered anything worthy of punishment.
The Clippers are alleged to have circumvented the salary cap by paying Leonard via a no-show endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration. Company co-founder Joseph Sanberg pleaded guilty to fraud last October and was sentenced to 14 years in prison in June.
The Clippers have repeatedly denied using Aspiration as a way to funnel extra money to Leonard, insisting they were among the victims of Sanberg’s fraud. The team plans to “fight (the allegations) to the end,” even if it means going to arbitration, a source told Holmes.
Leonard led the Raptors to a championship in 2019 before joining the Clippers in free agency that summer.
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