Feb 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Clippers May Have Illegally Circumvented Salary Cap To Pay Kawhi Leonard

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Corey Hansford | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 1:40 PM ET

The summer of 2019 was a major one in NBA history. The Los Angeles Lakers traded for Anthony Davis, but also had designs on signing free agent Kawhi Leonard to join him and LeBron James on what would’ve been an absolute super team. Leonard, however, chose to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, who then traded for Paul George to set up what looked to be a rivalry for Western Conference supremacy for years to come.

Many viewed Leonard joining the Clippers as him not wanting to be in the shadow of LeBron and not wanting to deal with all of the extra spotlight and publicity that comes with the Lakers as he is a very private person. However, there have been some rumors in the past about Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, making illegal demands that went against the CBA, which Lakers then-owner Jeanie Buss promptly denied.

Not much had come from those rumors until now as journalist Pablo Torre is reporting that Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with tree-planting company Aspire which amounted to a “no-show job” in which the Clippers forward did no public endorsing of the company and which one employee was told was a deal designed to circumvent the salary cap:

Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a "no-show job" with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, according to documents obtained by @PabloTorre.

"It was to circumvent the salary cap," an inside source says. pic.twitter.com/F6z5pNEkI1

— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025

If this is true, it would be a major violation of the CBA and Leonard and the Clippers could potentially be facing serious discipline from the NBA. One of the things Robertson reportedly asked for from the Lakers and Buss was a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money and this $28 million deal would certainly seem to fall under that umbrella.

The fact that Torre has paperwork and a former employee speaking on the record about this would seem to be damning evidence, though the Clippers have already come out and denied any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, this could very well explain why Leonard ultimately joined the Clippers instead of the purple and gold.

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This article first appeared on Los Angeles Lakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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