Likely punishment for Kawhi Leonard, Clippers revealed

It's been nearly a year since the NBA hired a firm to investigate whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard under the table.

Former ESPN journalist Pablo Torre has uncovered multiple no-show deals, and it's hard to deny beyond a reasonable doubt that it's all a big coincidence.

However, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been coy on this matter, and given Clippers owner Steve Ballmer's role on the Board of Governors, the sense has always been that he won't get much more than a slap on the wrist.

According to NBA insider Michael Grange, that's still the likeliest scenario. In a report for SportsNet, he revealed that the league had already concluded its investigation, and those expecting harsh punishment are in for a rude awakening.

NBA unlikely to lay the hammer on the Clippers

“The most likely outcome? A negotiated settlement where the NBA gets to enforce some version of its rules, Ballmer can save face and Leonard can play for the Raptors,” wrote Grange.

Earlier in the week, Torre unveiled another no-show deal between Leonard and Daktronics, the company that built the Jumbotron in Intuit Dome, the Clippers' new arena.

Salary-cap circumvention was a cardinal sin in the NBA, but that was before Silver's tenure.

Per Grange, the league was already aware of multiple side deals, so Torre's latest findings are unlikely to change anything:

“Whether Torre’s latest finding is new information to the NBA’s investigation or not — a report in The Athletic last month said a second no-show endorsement deal was already part of the investigation — the sense is that it won’t affect the next stage of the process, namely figuring out what the league is going to do with the information it has collected,” added Grange.

A light punishment could set a dangerous precedent in the NBA and pro sports, and it begs the question whether there's even a point in having a salary cap.