Could Kawhi Leonard Face Punishment in Clippers Contract Mess?

There are few that will feel too badly for Clippers owner Steve Ballmer if, indeed, the mess that his franchise has found itself in after a report from podcaster Pablo Torre uncovered an alleged no-show contract for star forward Kawhi Leonard is found credible by the league and worthy of punishment. Ballmer's net worth is over $150 billion, and there's no fine that the NBA could levy that will make a serious dent on his balance sheet.

The NBA could penalize the Clippers by taking away draft picks, which will surely be part of a penalty if the league comes back with a guilty verdict. There is precedent for that--when the Timberwolves circumvented the cap with the Joe Smith contract in 2000, they were penalized five first-round picks (two were returned).

Around the league, though, a question that's gaining some traction is this: What about Kawhi Leonard himself? Could he be punished by the league?

Can the NBA Punish Kawhi Leonard in Clippers Situation?

That is a complicated question. It's doubtful that Leonard would face a suspension, unless more evidence is uncovered in the investigation, which the league is handing over to the law firm Wachtell Lipton. If all Leonard did was accept a $28 million contract for doing no work, the league will have a hard time pinning too much punishment on him.

But, as with the Smith case, Leonard is certainly in danger of losing his contract, which comes in at $50 million for each of the next two years.

"I think the thing we are all wondering is how much does this all trickle down to Kawhi Leonard?" one NBA executive said. "If you are going to hold the Clippers accountable, don’t you also have to hold Kawhi accountable? If the whole thing is a scheme to circumvent the cap, then it takes two to tango, right? Is there a fine, a suspension or what?

"You could take away the last year of his deal, but what if he turns around and signs somewhere else for $40 million? It seems like there needs to be something for Kawhi if all this turns out to be provable, but what’s the punishment there?"

How Long Will it Take for the NBA to Investigate the Clippers?

The timing of all of this is critical. Certainly, commissioner Adam Silver can fast-track the investigation, but even if he does, it is unlikely it can be done before the season starts on Oct. 21. The longer the investigation drags, the more the weight of the Leonard-Clippers situation will disippate.

When the NBA hired Wachtell Lipton to investigate former Suns owner Robert Sarver in 2021, findings of the investigation were released 10 months later.

It might be in the best interest of the league to drag things out. That could also allow the NBA to just target the 2026-27 portion of Leonard's contract, perhaps a more agreeable result for both Leonard and the union. Silver said last week that fines and suspensions will be on the table as potential punishments--but that the union would be involved.

"I think those are all things we’ll look at, but we certainly won’t change the rules in mid-course during an investigation," Silver said. "Let’s get through this investigation. We’ll reassess. We’ll see what happened here. Then we’ll sit down both among our owners and then potentially with the Players Association because some of that is a function of collective bargaining, and see if there’s additional things we need to do."

How Much Could Kawhi Leonard Lose in NBA Salary?

A $50 million penalty for Leonard? That's a possibility, if the final year of his contract is voided, though the league would likely let him sign elsewhere, as with Smith (who lande with the Pistons).

Here's how an Eastern Conference exec sees it: "The league is in a tough spot because they want to send a message, they want to set a precedent and all of that. But if you don’t have a ton of solid evidence then no owner is going to be very comfortable taking some big strong action on the basis of innuendos. So time is working for the league if they're looking to do something but knowing they can't do too much. You have an investigation, you announce some punishment, then there is going to be appeals. We will probably be past Christmas and well into 2026 before they start announcing findings, and then there are appeals.

"Point is, Kawhi’s contract has two years left. He has $50 million for this year, that’s not going anywhere. He has $50 million next year. If anything, the league could try to void that last year, that $50 million. That’s probably the most they can do for punishment but the players association would fight that tooth and nail."