Kawhi "no-show job" that paid $28M

[6ixpessant]

This is going to be a ton of fun.

[Tha Cynic]

Nice breakdown by Sam Quinn at CBS: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kawhi-leonard-contract-nba-clippers-steve-ballmer-uncle-dennis-no-show-job/

As detailed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the commissioner is authorized to issue the following penalties for cap circumvention:

* A fine of up to $4.5 million for a first offense.
* A fine of up to $5.5 million for the second and any subsequent offenses.
* The forfeiture of one first-round draft pick.
* Contracts or transactions that violated league rules can be voided.

Therefore, at least based on the CBA as it is written, the Clippers would not be subject to the same multi-year penalty that crippled the Timberwolves 25 years ago unless they committed multiple violations.

What this tells me is that the NBa knows these kind of things take place and they want to give teams a chance to get away with it . I wouldn’t be surprised if the Raptors faced the most harsh of these punishments compared to a team from LA.

[Tha Cynic]

Nice breakdown by Sam Quinn at CBS: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kawhi-leonard-contract-nba-clippers-steve-ballmer-uncle-dennis-no-show-job/

As detailed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the commissioner is authorized to issue the following penalties for cap circumvention:

* A fine of up to $4.5 million for a first offense.
* A fine of up to $5.5 million for the second and any subsequent offenses.
* The forfeiture of one first-round draft pick.
* Contracts or transactions that violated league rules can be voided.

Therefore, at least based on the CBA as it is written, the Clippers would not be subject to the same multi-year penalty that crippled the Timberwolves 25 years ago unless they committed multiple violations.

So the heaviest price is paid by the player.

I hate the conspiracy theories as much as the next guy, but given how insignificant these penalties are to the team engaging in cap circumvention, it tells me the owners collectively have blessed it as a practice. A good owner should circumvent that cap if all it costs them is a $4.5m fine and at most the loss of a first round pick.

Yup, basically what I just wrote too. But you also know the NBa will pick and choose which teams get the harshest of those punishments

[PushDaRock]

Masai was initially confident of getting Kawhi to re-sign, that changed when they got into actual meetings. There were also "unreasonable" requests made apparently from Kawhi's side, so none of this is all that surprising aside from leaving a paper trail so blatantly obvious.

[ArthurVandelay]

If you’re surprised by this and you didn’t know it, clap your hands.

It’s pretty quiet.

[Tha Cynic]

Unsurprising TBH. Masai alluded to the level of which the Clippers were willing to circumvent the salary cap rules years ago when he de-briefed with some media after Kawhi made his decision. I'm paraphrasing here cause this was a long time ago, but he basically said something like we all know there are perks, (private planes, preferred family tickets, side endorsements, etc.) but that Kawhi / Uncle Dennis were making requests that made him (Masai) feel uncomfortable and that Masai was unwilling to agree to, but that Clippers were. Masai didn't talk much on it, and when I heard it at the time I thought Masai was clearly throwing the Clippers under the bus and that the media / somebody would dig further into what Masai was actually hinting at, as it sounded messed up, and really, f#k the Clippers. But clearly no one did at the time.... until now.

Again.

F#k The Clippers.

*EDIT*

Should have read the whole thread first to see OakleyDokely dug up one of the references:

Josh Lewenberg from an article in 2019:

"In some cases, they were asking for things that Ujiri - one of the most well-compensated executives in the league - wouldn't even had at his disposal. Their requests were "unreasonable", a source said, which made the Raptors wonder whether Leonard was seriously considering them at all"


Raptors and probably the Lakers weren't willing to do this, Ballmer was fine with it, though.

For Masai to go out and publicly say this you know he brought it up with the NBA. NBA knew something shady happened. They didn’t care

[mkot]

KL2 LLC is really subtle. I never would have put that together

[SFour]

There's a reason nobody hears from Uncle Dennis anymore, I guarantee he got paid big money under the table....he's set for life

[mkot]

Nice breakdown by Sam Quinn at CBS: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kawhi-leonard-contract-nba-clippers-steve-ballmer-uncle-dennis-no-show-job/

As detailed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the commissioner is authorized to issue the following penalties for cap circumvention:

* A fine of up to $4.5 million for a first offense.
* A fine of up to $5.5 million for the second and any subsequent offenses.
* The forfeiture of one first-round draft pick.
* Contracts or transactions that violated league rules can be voided.

Therefore, at least based on the CBA as it is written, the Clippers would not be subject to the same multi-year penalty that crippled the Timberwolves 25 years ago unless they committed multiple violations.

I expect nothing less. The player needs to be punished too

Read on Twitter

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[PushDaRock]

KL2 LLC is really subtle. I never would have put that together

It's called hiding in plain sight

[bstein14]

Most other league owners probably love guys like Ballmer and Ishbia. Even the league itself keeps a big amount of the luxury tax payments to fund everything. They need teams willing to pay. I think Ballmer paid $360 million over a 3 season stretch before finally saying no to paying PG13. Ishibia has also paid in big time. Those guys have given $100s of millions to the league itself and the other owners that get to split tax payments.

I feel like Ballmer's $2 million bid for the Clippers was really the start of the massive upward valuations of NBA franchises. The Pistons sold just before that for only $325 million and lots of teams were selling in the $300 to $500 million range prior.

[TheGeneral99]

Thank you ChatGPT lol:

When Kawhi Leonard left the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2019, fresh off delivering the franchise’s first-ever NBA championship, he had just cemented himself as one of the most cold-blooded playoff performers the game had ever seen. Toronto had embraced him, he had a winning culture, a stacked supporting cast, and a GM who pulled off miracles.

And yet, he walked away.

Why? To go home to Los Angeles, join the Clippers, and chase a title his way by building a so-called “superteam” with Paul George.

Fast forward to 2025: zero Finals appearances, multiple injuries, chemistry issues, and a string of postseason collapses. The Clippers have become a meme of wasted potential. Meanwhile, the Raptors proved their legitimacy wasn’t just a fluke: they went 53-19 the next year without Kawhi, missed the Finals mostly due to a pandemic-related bubble weirdness, and stayed a respected, tough organization.

So let’s be clear: Kawhi Leonard fumbled one of the greatest opportunities in modern NBA history.

To make matters worse, recent reports suggest that Kawhi’s family has now been implicated in sketchy, possibly fraudulent activity when joining the Clippers, Whether or not Kawhi himself is directly involved, it reflects poorly on the mystique he once had as the quiet, drama-free assassin.

He was once the anti-star, a humble, hard-working killer who just showed up, played elite basketball, and collected wins. That image has been cracked, if not shattered. His legacy, once trending toward all-time great status, now sits in limbo: two titles, yes, but an abrupt disappearance from relevance when he could’ve built a real dynasty in Toronto.

[Raptorfan2012]

Force Ballmer to sell and boot Kawhi from the league.

Set a precedent. What better way to appear "tough" on this than to ban a player who wasn't gonna play much anymore anyways.

Again agreed. A legit punishment would be this. But this is the NBa. It won’t happen

Booting Kawhi is easy (he is pretty much a has-been at this point), dealing with Ballmer is the hard part. The guys is worth more than the league itself.

[TheGeneral99]

Force Ballmer to sell and boot Kawhi from the league.

Set a precedent. What better way to appear "tough" on this than to ban a player who wasn't gonna play much anymore anyways.

Again agreed. A legit punishment would be this. But this is the NBa. It won’t happen

Booting Kawhi is easy (he is pretty much a has-been at this point), dealing with Ballmer is the hard part. The guys is worth more than the league itself.

Based on how much traction this is getting the league will have to do some investigation and will probably give the Clippers a light slap on the wrist...maybe a meaningless fine and a couple draft picks.

[mkot]

Read on Twitter

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[PushDaRock]

Most other league owners probably love guys like Ballmer and Ishbia. Even the league itself keeps a big amount of the luxury tax payments to fund everything. They need teams willing to pay. I think Ballmer paid $360 million over a 3 season stretch before finally saying no to paying PG13. Ishibia has also paid in big time. Those guys have given $100s of millions to the league itself and the other owners that get to split tax payments.

I feel like Ballmer's $2 million bid for the Clippers was really the start of the massive upward valuations of NBA franchises. The Pistons sold just before that for only $325 million and lots of teams were selling in the $300 to $500 million range prior.

I highly doubt the league cares about Ballmer doing this, but they do care about him getting caught and making it look bad.

[Morris_Shatford]

While I am very confident nothing will happen to the Clippers,

Can you imagine if it was us that pulled this stunt?
They would eject us from the league.

[Tha Cynic]

I mean Gambodoro just posted that Larry Tanenbaum brought this up with Silver and he did nothing lol

From what I recall, Solver didn’t even pronounce Tanenbaums name properly during the trophy presentation so that tells me all I need to know.

[LiSTWithLani]

Read on Twitter

?

Feels like not only the turning point for that team, but maybe for LarryT as well!

[Brinbe]

Yeah, I do remember Masai mentioning their requests at the time which sounded pretty sus. Can't say that Larry didn't try to make it work though.

But I don't expect them to get the Joe Smith punishment here. Different time and different commish. Maybe a fine, but what does that matter to one of the richest on the planet? lol. Maybe a few draft picks at worst.

Super sloppy work by Ballmer and Kawhi's team though.