The allegations leveled at Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are serious, and a punishment could be severe.
The team and Leonard deny any wrongdoing, but a report about Leonard’s time with the Toronto Raptors casts some doubt on that.
John Gambadoro claims that prior to his exit from Toronto, Leonard asked the team’s owner for more money via endorsement deals.
“Kawhi Leonard reportedly asked Toronto’s owner Larry Tanenbaum to line up an extra $15M in endorsements when deciding his free agency,” Gambadoro said.
Kawhi Leonard reportedly asked Toronto’s owner Larry Tanenbaum to line up an extra $15M in endorsements when deciding his free agency, per @Gambo987 pic.twitter.com/JDtapeGirb
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 3, 2025
This sounds strikingly similar to what happened with Leonard, the Clippers, and the now-shuttered company Aspiration.
Leonard was being paid a lot by the Clippers, but he made $7 million more on the side through a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration.
Whether or not that circumvented the league’s salary cap rules is up for debate, and the NBA is now investigating.
But the fact that Leonard reportedly asked for this arrangement in Toronto makes some people question any claims of innocence.
It’s not uncommon for players to demand stipulations from teams, and they can receive a lot, up to a point.
However, the reporting about the Clippers and Aspiration says this was more than simple demands and instead was a strategic attempt to break the rules.
The NBA is surely considering this claim about Leonard and the Raptors.
They are going to dig into financial records, interviews, and a lot more in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
This story continues to grow, and it threatens to throw the Clippers and their goals into complete disarray just weeks before the new season begins.
If the NBA decides that Leonard and the Clippers avoided their rules, they could make 2025-26 incredibly painful for everyone involved.
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