Voiding star's contract would reward, not punish, Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers could be facing a number of penalties if the NBA decides Kawhi Leonard's endorsement deal violated the salary cap. But one severe punishment might actually reward them.

The NBA is investigating Leonard's "no-show job" with Clippers jersey patch sponsor, Aspiration, which paid him $48M in salary and stock without requiring him to do anything, while Clippers owners Steve Ballmer and Dennis Wong invested in the company. It would be the biggest alleged salary cap circumvention since the Minnesota Timberwolves were fined and docked draft picks for making a secret deal with Joe Smith, who had his contract voided by the league.

Leonard's deal is a liability for the Clippers

Leonard's contract with the Clippers is worth $50M for the 2025-26 season and $50.3M for 2026-27. That's more than all but 13 NBA players made last season, and while Leonard has been one of the NBA's top players in the past, it's hard to argue that a 34-year-old who played only 37 regular-season games last year is a $50M player.

Especially given the NBA's new constraints on spending. Under Ballmer, the Clippers haven't hesitated to spend big and pay hundreds of millions in luxury tax — over $365.8M from 2021-24 according to Spotrac — but that was before the league's new CBA kicked in.

Now, the Clippers are hard-capped at the first salary cap apron ($195.9M), which means over 25% of their payroll is going to a player who took the court in only 45% of the games last season. Voiding Leonard's contract would essentially give Ballmer and the Clippers a get-out-of-jail-free card, except the jail is a salary-cap prison of their own making.

Voiding Leonard's deal would create chaos

Without Leonard's deal on the books, the Clippers could have space for a maximum contract next year, which is hardly a punishment. But making Leonard an unexpected free agent would wreak havoc on the league, possibly during this season.

Having Leonard on a $50M salary is tough on a team. Having Leonard on whatever deal an NBA team could afford in January is a huge bargain, especially in a league where salary cap room is so scarce that no restricted free agent even got an offer sheet. Imagine if the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder could add a two-time MVP at midseason.

There's many options the NBA has to punish the Clippers, whether it's the loss of draft picks, suspension of Ballmer and team officials or even relocating the 2026 All-Star Game away from Intuit Dome. But voiding Leonard's contract, however just, is likely not a punishment for the Clippers at all.