When asked about the still-pending Kawhi Leonard trade between the Clippers and Raptors, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the onus for the delay lies strictly with the teams involved and not with the league.
Silver addressed media from Summer League in Las Vegas on Tuesday night and was asked repeatedly about the ongoing Leonard saga that started with a league investigation in September and has resulted in his trade from Los Angeles to Toronto being put on hold in July.
Silver put it in no uncertain terms: The delay is on the Clippers and Raptors.
Silver: ‘The league did not pause the trade’
“I mean, the league did not pause the trade,” Silver said. “The parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward, given that the investigation remained open and any possible impact on Kawhi or his contract was yet to be known.
“And so they chose not to live with that uncertainty, but that was well known before the trade was proposed. I didn’t think there was any reason for people to believe that the status of Kawhi Leonard would change merely because he was traded. The investigation needs to run its course.”
The comments were the first from Silver on the subject since the Clippers and Raptors announced jointly on July 9 that the trade was on hold.
The fate of the Aspiration investigation remains in limbo. As does the trade to send Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers to the Raptors.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
What the Clippers, Raptors said
The Clippers, who are under investigation for alleged salary cap circumvention in their dealings with Leonard, again denied any wrongdoing in a statement acknowledging that the trade was on hold:
“We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.”
In their statement, the Raptors confirmed that the trade was on hold and indicated that they might not have been aware that they were assuming any risks associated with the ongoing investigation into Leonard and the Clippers before agreeing to the deal in principle.
“The league office informed us that, as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi. In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”
Silver: Risks were ‘well known’ to both teams before trade
This ultimately led to Silver’s comments Tuesday night. When pressed on the subject, Silver suggested that it would be naive for an NBA team to not understand the full scope of the situation before agreeing to a deal:
“All I’ll say is that the issues were well known to the teams, and once again, I think even if you weren’t a sophisticated NBA team, the notion that because Kawhi Leonard was traded, that the extent he was — that there was an investigation that included potential agreements that were entered into by Kawhi or his representatives — that somehow all those issues would go away by virtue of being traded, I just don’t find that credible,” Silver continued.
“I don’t think any of this information should have been a surprise to anyone involved.”
When will this be done?
As for the investigation itself, it’s still ongoing. The NBA confirmed on Sept. 3 that it was looking into allegations that the Clippers had circumvented the salary cap via third-party payments through the then-business partner of team owner Steve Ballmer, Aspiration. The allegations were surfaced by the podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” which has since won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the subject.
Ballmer and the Clippers have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and the NBA has hired law firm Wachtell Lipton to run an independent investigation, that remains open. Until it’s done, any business involving Leonard — including his trade to the Raptors — is in limbo.
Silver reiterated Tuesday night that he hopes for the probe to be completed by the end of the summer and in time for the new season.
“My timeline remains this summer,” Silver said. “As you know, I am not conducting the investigation, nor is the league office. That’s being conducted by the Wachtell law firm independent of the league.
“Of course, as I’ve said previously, we all have an interest in wrapping this up, and I think I most recently said it in an interview that I’m hopeful that it will wrap up this summer, so that would continue to be the goal here.”
Complicating matters further was a report Tuesday that Wachtell had expanded its investigation into an alleged second endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration, the now-bankrupt third-party company at the center of the scandal.
Silver remains steadfast that he’s confident the probe will conclude by the end of the summer. He has also repeatedly stated the NBA isn’t conducting the investigation.
Until it’s done, the extent of the discipline that the Clippers and/or Leonard will face, if any, remains unclear. And until that’s resolved, the fate of the trade between the Clippers and Raptors hangs in the balance.
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