Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers could face harsh penalties in circumvention case, says John Hollinger

Serious punishments could be coming the Los Angeles Clippers way, including ‘void Leonard’s contract’

As the investigation continues, it remains to be seen what penalties Steve Ballmer, the Clippers and Leonard would face.

John Hollinger of The Athletic outlined what could happen if all sides are found guilty.

“But here’s the menu Silver is working from:

“Fine the Clippers up to $7.5 million. Fine Leonard up to $350,000 Forfeit Clippers draft picks.

“Suspend Ballmer or other Clipper personnel up to a year and fine them up to $1 million each.

“Void Leonard’s contract and prohibit him from re-signing with the Clippers. Require Leonard to return the money he received from Aspiration.”

What potential punishments could mean for Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard

If the Clippers have to surrender draft picks that would be a huge blow to the future of their franchise.

The Clippers own a first round pick in five out of the next seven years, and having to surrender some of those picks would set them back after the Leonard and James Harden era is over.

The other big ramification would be the Clippers having to void Leonard’s contract and not being able to re-sign him, which means they would lose their superstar for nothing.

Meanwhile, Leonard would become a free agent and could then join a new team before or during the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season.

Leonard potentially being available for contending teams to sign would drastically change things in the NBA title picture.

As for Ballmer, he would get the hammer down in terms of a hefty fine and would be suspended for up to a year, which would be a significant loss as well.

The last time the NBA has seen anything like this was the Joe Smith contract scandal, which ended up costing the Timberwolves so much in the 2000s.

For the Clippers, this could be the start of a nightmare.