INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Hours after the latest allegations dropped in the Kawhi Leonard “no-show” endorsement scandal that has become the talk of the NBA, Leonard himself was defiant during Clippers media day.
“I mean, the NBA is going to do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing,” Leonard said. “And, yeah, I mean, that’s it. We invite the investigation…
“I understand that full contract and the services that I had to do. Like I said, I don’t deal with the conspiracies or the clickbait analysts or journalism that’s going on.”
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank echoed Leonard’s comments, saying during his remarks that, “we feel very, very confident we’re on the right side of this.”
The core of the allegations, first reported by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, are that the team circumvented the salary cap to get more money to Leonard through a team sponsor. In 2021, Clippers owner Ballmer invested $50 million in the “green bank” company Aspiration. Within 18 months, the Clippers purchased $100 million in those green credits as part of Ballmer’s effort to make the Clippers’ new home, the Intuit Dome, carbon neutral. Aspiration became a $300 million sponsor of the Clippers team in 2021.
About that time, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration (he also eventually was given another $20 million in company stock, which is now worthless). The salary cap circumvention case centers on the idea that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration as an endorser that can be seen publicly, leading to accusations that this was a “no-show” endorsement. The argument is that it was a way to funnel extra money to Leonard through a dying company. Aspiration is now bankrupt, and its CEO, Sanberg, has pled guilty to $248 million in fraud. Ballmer has maintained his innocence, saying he was “duped” like other investors, and that the Clippers ended their team sponsor relationship with Aspiration after it defaulted on its obligations.
Leonard pushed back on the allegation that he did nothing for Aspiration, that this was essentially a “no-show” contract.
“I don’t think that’s accurate, but it’s old,” Leonard said. “This is all new to you guys. The company went bankrupt a while ago, so we already knew this was going to happen.” Leonard, however, did not detail what he did for Aspiration.
Clippers president Frank opened his remarks with a statement that continued the Clippers’ claim that it is innocent in all this and that they would ultimately be proven innocent.
“We are glad there’s an investigation, and we welcome it,” Frank said. “We appreciate that there’ll be a clear-eyed look at these allegations, and we’re eager for the truth to come out. The assumptions and conclusions that have been made are disappointing and upsetting, and we expect the investigation will show that these allegations are wrong.
“I’m hurt for Steve [Ballmer]. He’s one of the best people and most honorable people I’ve ever met. He does things the right way for the right reasons, and he constantly reminds us to stay on the right side of the rules. I’m also hurt for our players, our staff, and fans…
“The accusations made against us are serious, and they don’t line up with my experience, my reality. We will cooperate with this investigation and let this process play out. But we are eager for the whole truth, the whole picture, to be revealed. We’re very confident in what it will show.”
Frank dodged a question about whether Leonard’s uncle and business manager, Dennis Robertson (commonly referred to as “Uncle Dennis”) had asked him for improper gifts when he signed with the team in 2019. Representatives of the Raptors and Lakers have said he did with them, even asking for a piece of the team. “Dennis knows the rules. Kawhi knows the rules,” was Frank’s pat response.
Frank and Leonard agreed on something else — that this would not be a distraction for the Clippers.
“I don’t read headlines. I don’t do conspiracies, theories or anything like that,” Leonard said. “It’s about the season and what we got ahead of us right now. And, yeah, tomorrow we’ll start camp and see what we got.”
“I think one is you acknowledge it…” Frank said of the allegations. “They know that we’re, we’re very confident that we’re on the right side of things. And then you just focus on what you can control. I mean, if you’re looking for a distraction, you can find one, right? I think what makes athletes so special is their ability just to focus on things they can control.”
A veteran team like the Clippers might be able to put the distraction aside and focus on the game, but the allegations and the league’s investigation are not going away.
Neither are the questions.
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