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

[tanuki1031]

Boardman no shows gets paid!

ESPN picking up the story giving it the red block BREAKING NEWS top headline then replacing it with a "judging the MLB trade deadline a month later" article a couple hours later pretty much lets you know people gave the memo to bury and keep this quiet.

[pharring]

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.

This.
Same field. Different rules.

[Quattro]

Boardman no shows gets paid!

ESPN picking up the story giving it the red block BREAKING NEWS top headline then replacing it with a "judging the MLB trade deadline a month later" article a couple hours later pretty much lets you know people gave the memo to bury and keep this quiet.

Why? Its not the Lakers or LeBron related

[canada_dry]

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.

Love that

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[WaltFrazier]

Brunson signing looks extremely sus now.

Read on Twitter

You post this with no evidence of any involvement from a company like Aspire or anything like that.

[WaltFrazier]

Clippers response:

The Clippers provided a statement to Torre denying any wrongdoing by the team or Ballmer.

“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” the team statement read. “Any contrary assertion is provably false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation. The team and Mr. Ballmer stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way they can.”

Aspiration was a firm that promised its clients carbon credits and tree planting to offset carbon costs. The company went bankrupt in March after co-founder Joe Sanberg was arrested for wire fraud. Sanberg has since pleaded guilty to the charges.

So they're innocent.

[Tor_Raps]

Clippers response:

The Clippers provided a statement to Torre denying any wrongdoing by the team or Ballmer.

“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” the team statement read. “Any contrary assertion is provably false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation. The team and Mr. Ballmer stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way they can.”

Aspiration was a firm that promised its clients carbon credits and tree planting to offset carbon costs. The company went bankrupt in March after co-founder Joe Sanberg was arrested for wire fraud. Sanberg has since pleaded guilty to the charges.

So they're innocent.

Ya im sure Balmer did his best to wipe everything clean but we'll see how good of a job he did in the end.

We all know there were shady dealings going on with Lakers/Raptors people saying so.

[earthtone]

Not sure why people think there won't be serious backlash and penalties against the Clippers for this.

I don't think Ballmer will be kicked out of the league, but I think it's a real possibility Kawhi's contract gets voided and the Clippers have record setting fines and picks revoked.

[Zeno]

Not sure why people think there won't be serious backlash and penalties against the Clippers for this.

I don't think Ballmer will be kicked out of the league, but I think it's a real possibility Kawhi's contract gets voided and the Clippers have record setting fines and picks revoked.

I agree. They are in a very difficult situation with this. The owners basically put in the 2nd aprons and a whole load of new restrictions based on nerfing Balmer types. They aren’t going to just smile and look the other way on this blatant disregard for the rules. If they void his contract though, that is a gift to the Clippers. Maybe they void the contract but leave a dead cap hit on the Clippers books, though I can’t imagine the Players Association would allow that. Finding an effective punishment for Balmer will be difficult if this is all true and this is way worse than the Joe Smith thing.

[TakeYourHeart]

Why do it in 2021and not 2019?

[RyderMike]

Why do it in 2021and not 2019?

Because in 2019 they were actively looking for shady stuff in regards to the contract. The wink wink we'll do it on the second contract when no one is lookinh

[Kingsway_fan]

The league needs to come down HARD on this blatant corruption. Clippers need to forfeit 5 1st round picks AND VOID ANY PAYMENT TO KAWHI, PLUS AT LEAST a $100 M FINE [SET precedent].

[PushDaRock]

Give us the Clippers' 1st Round picks, we deserve Reparations!!!

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

I’ve saw people say can Raptors be awarded anything in compensation, but that won’t happen and we definitely seem to be the most impacted by it- but Kawai was a UFA and could have to any team- Clippers actions were an unfair advantage over all teams, not just us. I don’t see any issue with teams lining up outside endorsements opportunities - but they have to be legit pay for services- otherwise it could also be compensation through cap circumvention. So was the cactus but Kawhi went for the money. If other teams try and meet the demand too, they’re pretty much just as guilty. What’s harder to believe that more teams do this or more teams wouldn’t engage out of principle. Like San Antonio relationship with KL soured due to injury scepticism, but they probably heard the kind of things his camp were looking for and knew they’d have a hard time finding that - and it maybe why we got to rent him and raise a banner in the first place.

[Dr Positivity]

Why not just get Kawhi to actually endorse Aspiration with bare minimum effort like a 2 minute video?

[PushDaRock]

Why not just get Kawhi to actually endorse Aspiration with bare minimum effort like a 2 minute video?

lol because nobody thought they would ever get caught

[canz55]

If Steve Ballmer willingly agreed to this and its verifiable I'll be stunned.

I know he's likely very arrogant but this is a level of gaul that is inexplicable (even for him).

[SharoneWright]

Now we know why Ka'Wine and Dine failed.

[mkot]

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.

Love that

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

I'm forever thankful for the Denver Nuggets stopping/destroying them in the bubble, that could be the year when both Kawhi and PG were 100% healthy and in their prime. Handing Doc another 3-1 choke is just a cherry on top

[mkot]

Why not just get Kawhi to actually endorse Aspiration with bare minimum effort like a 2 minute video?

He won't even lift a finger and retweet or like their post to show support. What a fraud.