Bombshell Kawhi Leonard report brings up history of salary-cap scandals

The Los Angeles Clippers may have circumvented the salary cap with Kawhi Leonard. They wouldn't be the first professional team to get busted for cap violations. Here's a list of some of the most egregious cap offenses.

Minnesota Timberwolves

It was a shock when Joe Smith, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in 1995, agreed to a one-year, $1.75M deal with the Timberwolves in 1999. But that's because Smith had a secret deal to sign a series of cheap one-year deals with the team until they obtained his Bird rights, and could go over the salary cap to give him a massive contract — up to $86M.

But when Smith's agents, who also represented Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, parted ways and sued each other, the lawsuit revealed the plot. The Timberwolves got a massive penalty, which included fines, suspensions for owner Glen Taylor and GM Kevin McHale and the forfeiture of four first-round picks. Eventually, Smith did resign with the Wolves, but for six years and $34M. He averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in four seasons with Minnesota — not exactly a performance worth four first-rounders.

San Francisco 49ers

Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was known for taking care of his players, often in a way that wasn't permissible by NFL rules. He funded celebratory vacations after Super Bowl titles, gave out expensive gifts like Rolex watches and drew a $50K for paying his bonuses during the 1987 players strike.

Playing fast and loose with the rules caught up to the team in 2000. The team was docked draft picks for illegal deals with Hall of Famer Steve Young and tight end Brent Jones, who continued to get paid by the team after he'd retired. In addition, team executives, agents and the team got six-figure fines. As far as we can tell, players got to keep their Rolexes.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos took home Super Bowl titles after the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Later, Super Bowl MVPs John Elway and Terrell Davis took home $29M in deferred payments, which violated NFL rules.

Denver was penalized two separate times for cap violations that occurred from 1996-98, when the team went 39-9 and won two Super Bowls. They forfeited two third-round picks and received fines that totaled $1.918M, a small price to pay for the Lombardi Trophy.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils re-signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a then-record 17-year contract for $102M when he was a free agent in 201, a deal that would have run until the star winger was 44 years old. However, the NHL objected to the deal as blatant salary cap manipulation, as the final six years paid him just $550K per season, thus lowering his average salary and New Jersey's cap hit.

The NHL fined New Jersey $3M and took away a first-round pick, though they relented and let the Devils pick at the end of the 2014 draft's first round. Kovalchuk signed a new deal for only 15 years and $100M, then retired from the NHL three years later to play in Russia.

Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys

When the NFL had an uncapped season in 2010, Washington and Dallas took advantage by signing players to front-loaded contracts. While both teams denied wrongdoing, the Commanders lost $36M in cap space over the next two seasons, and the Cowboys lost $10M. The cap chicanery didn't help: Both teams finished 6-10.