Reports of Kawhi Leonard Forcing Raptors Owner for $15M Endorsements Surface After $28M Fraudulent Deal With Steve Ballmer

The recent alleged scandal involving Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers is a storm that could end careers. With the news of a reportedly fraudulent deal with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer making its way to light practically means that open season has just been declared on both parties. While the Clippers have categorically denied these allegations, another report suggests that this isn’t the first time Leonard and his team have attempted to circumvent the salary cap.

Kawhi Leonard maintains a quiet approach to the basketball court, but that doesn’t mean he’s shy about asking for what he feels he’s worth. Normally, that would be a good thing but throughout the years, the two-time NBA champion has made considerable demands from different teams.

During the 2019 offseason, quite a few teams sought Leonard’s services. At the time, he was fresh off a championship with the Toronto Raptors and a consensus top player in the league. Even the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to lure Leonard out of Canada to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Those negotiations, however, didn’t get too far after Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, began to make ridiculous demands. “He asked team officials for part ownership of the team, a private plane that would be available at all times, a house, and last but certainly not least, a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money that they could expect if Leonard played for their team,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported.

Well, it seems it wasn’t just the Lakers who received such lofty demands. John Gambadoro has recently come forth and revealed that Leonard’s team had the same energy toward then-Raptors owner, Larry Tanenbaum.

“When Kawhi signed with the Clippers, the Toronto owner Larry Tanenbaum was beside himself because he believed he bent over backwards for Kawhi,” Gambadoro said. “Calling three sponsors to meet Kawhi’s demand of an extra $15 million in endorsement money.”

Unlike the Lakers, the Raptors actually met Leonard’s demands, yet he still chose to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers. It didn’t take long for NBA commissioner Adam Silver to find out about what was going on.

“This was brought to the attention of Adam Silver as a concern over the cheating going on in the league being out of control. But no action was taken as it was thought Tannebaum didn’t truly understand the rules, only a promise to get more serious about it in the future,” Gambadoro said.

This alleged situation with Leonard and the Clippers is much different. Silver won’t just let them off the hook with a warning. A great case for reference is with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Smith in 1999. The league stripped the Timberwolves of five future first-round picks and voided Smith’s contract with the team.

It’ll be interesting to see what Silver and the other league officials decide to do. Punishment is certainly on the way, but to what degree remains to be seen.