BREAKING: LAC Kawhi Leonard Found to Circumvent Cap

[Hooper21]

This is crazy, and starting to feel mildly depressing to me. I'm not naive - at least I don't feel like I am - but this type of thing reveals a pit of cynicism that might eventually suck the fun out of the league for me. 

I really hope an example is made of LAC and Kawhi, even if it's only just to maintain the appearance of some type of fair, rule-based structure.

Wrap some $100 bills around your head, it seems to have worked for Kawhi's knee...

[michaeltex]

Wrap some $100 bills around your head, it seems to have worked for Kawhi's knee...

It's the healing power of the Benjamins!

[Chicagojk]

It is tricky if they find guilt.   I would think the NBA would not want to run off their richest owner.    LAC has finally been a stable franchise after years of dysfunction.    

They also lack a lot of first round picks.  A fine does nothing to Bahlmer.    

On the other hand, voiding the contract does nothing either.    That just sets up a contender getting Leonard for a minimum.   

Can you suspend Leonard for a year or two?  That feels wrong to me.    

Can you suspend him and keep his cap hold on the team?   What is tricky is the Clippers should be good.  Maybe really good. I just don't think they are one of the top 4 teams that could come out of the west.  Their plan is to be good for this year and next and then reset with a ton of cap room.    Can you limit their cap room for the next several years?

[michaeltex]

Are there rumblings that Brunson may have a similar off-books deal with NYKs, which is why he left $100M+ on the table with the current contract?

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Are there rumblings that Brunson may have a similar off-books deal with NYKs, which is why he left $100M+ on the table with the current contract?

Methinks that invalidates his contract and must return to Dallas immediately.

[DallasMaverick]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4627...a-clippers

Is this what Nico was afraid of with Luka?

[mvossman]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4627...a-clippers

Is this what Nico was afraid of with Luka?

I usually at least get your bit, but I'm not even sure where you are going with this?

[DallasMaverick]

I usually at least get your bit, but I'm not even sure where you are going with this?

Pander to an oft-injured but extremely expensive superstar, who’s career declines significantly yet prevents roster-building?

[SleepingHero]

Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass)
Several “key members” of the Clippers want to part ways with Kawhi Leonard, per @DALHoopsJournal

[SleepingHero]

Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)
During Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 free agency, he and his uncle, Dennis Robertson, sent the Clippers several requests before Leonard would commit to signing with them, per @Baxter.
︀︀
︀︀Those requests included the Clippers acquiring Paul George, part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money.
︀︀
︀︀These verbal requests fell outside the boundaries of the NBA's CBA and were the same ones Robertson sent to the Lakers and the Raptors, per The Athletic.

[SleepingHero]

@pablofindsout
EXCLUSIVE: Two weeks before Kawhi's first "no-show" payday, the Clippers bailed out Aspiration with a $21M deal signed by the team CFO.

(Yes, @mcuban sent @PabloTorre down this rabbit hole: "He literally described exactly what they did," a source says, "to circumvent the cap.")

Watch the video. I have no idea how the Clippers don't get a massive punishment.

https://x.com/pablofindsout/status/1968646207087030567

[khaled1987]

@pablofindsout
EXCLUSIVE: Two weeks before Kawhi's first "no-show" payday, the Clippers bailed out Aspiration with a $21M deal signed by the team CFO.

(Yes, @mcuban sent @PabloTorre down this rabbit hole: "He literally described exactly what they did," a source says, "to circumvent the cap.")

Watch the video. I have no idea how the Clippers don't get a massive punishment.

https://x.com/pablofindsout/status/1968646207087030567

And Cuban responds:

https://xcancel.com/mcuban/status/1968693228707651721

[KillerLeft]

Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)
During Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 free agency, he and his uncle, Dennis Robertson, sent the Clippers several requests before Leonard would commit to signing with them, per @Baxter.
︀︀
︀︀Those requests included the Clippers acquiring Paul George, part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money.
︀︀
︀︀These verbal requests fell outside the boundaries of the NBA's CBA and were the same ones Robertson sent to the Lakers and the Raptors, per The Athletic.

Wow, Toronto never had a chance. 

What a lucky thing for the Spurs, in hindsight.

[mvossman]

Pander to an oft-injured but extremely expensive superstar, who’s career declines significantly yet prevents roster-building?

There is so much wrong with this.

You are comparing a 25 year old Luka to a guy in his mid thirties.

There has been no hint of Luka demanding pandering, nothing like what we have seen with Kawhi.  

In fact, Nico fired or got rid of everyone close to Luka.  Does that sound like pandering?  Its the opposite.

So his solution to your stated problem is to trade for a big man on the wrong side of 30 with a history of injury issues and making nearly 60 mil a year for the next 3 and a half years?  Do you see the problem?

Its time to accept that this all comes down to Nico had a beef with Luka and took advantage of a power vacuum to make a wildly incompetent trade.

[Mavs2021]

Wow, Toronto never had a chance. 

What a lucky thing for the Spurs, in hindsight.

Hindsight? He likely made the same demands in San Antonio and they just silently traded him away "under" market value to avoid all the trouble he brings .

[KillerLeft]

Hindsight? He likely made the same demands in San Antonio and they just silently traded him away "under" market value to avoid all the trouble he brings .

Yes, hindsight (speaking for myself, obviously, since I’m me). My point is that there likely were indicators that he was going to be this type of trouble, even way back then, and I think they’re probably pretty fortunate not to have let it get to this point while he was a spur. He was their best player at the time, and they took a lot of heat over how that injury situation was handled, but knowing what we know now it’s easy to envision the kinds of things that were going on behind the scenes.

[SleepingHero]

This story is really insane to me

@All_Things_Mavs

In a few very dumbed down bullet points:

- Clips transferred $21mil to “Aspiration” with an effective date the SAME DAY “Aspiration” owed Kawhi Leonard his first payment

- The Clippers/Dennis Wong (Ballmer’s college roommate), less than 3 months before they prepaid the $21mil, also wired Aspiration $3mil one day and then another $32mil three days later in the Spring of 2022

- $21m + $3m + $32m = about $56 million in 2022, which lined up with “Aspirations’” payments to Kawhi Leonard

oh by the way… according to @PabloTorre/@pablofindsout, this was all while Aspiration was “burning money”

Pablo leaned all this from bank statements and documents signed by the Clippers CFO lol