INGLEWOOD, Calif. — LA Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard dismissed allegations that the team participated in activities that circumvented the NBA salary cap Monday when he met with the press as part of media day, repeatedly referring to news reports as “conspiracies.”
Leonard, the Clippers, team chairman Steve Ballmer and Aspiration, a now-bankrupt environmental company and former team sponsor, are at the center of an NBA investigation into whether the team circumvented the league’s salary cap via a “no-show” endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration, allegations first outlined on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.
Leonard, who had not commented on the allegations publicly until Monday, was the last Clippers player to speak at media day. When asked about his approach to training camp amid the series of podcasts and additional news reporting, including by The Athletic, Leonard said he was focused on the start of the season.
“I mean, it’s easy for me,” Leonard said. “I don’t read headlines or do conspiracies, theories, or anything like that. It’s about the season and what we got ahead of us right now. Tomorrow, we’ll start camp and see what we’ve got.”
Leonard struck a tone that was in line with the Clippers’ previous public responses since the news of the arrangement first broke on Sept. 2.
“The NBA is going to do their job,” Leonard said. “None of us did no wrongdoing. And yeah, I mean, that’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”
Earlier in the morning on Monday, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank acknowledged that “there are a lot of questions about our organization” as part of an opening statement to begin Media Day. However, Frank stated strongly that the Clippers, Leonard, his uncle Dennis Robertson and his agent Mitch Frankel all know the rules of the league’s salary cap.
“We are glad there’s an investigation, and we welcome it. We appreciate that there’ll be a clear-eyed look at these allegations, and we’re eager for the truth to come out,” Frank said. “The assumptions and conclusions that have been made are disappointing and upsetting, and we expect the investigation will show that these allegations are wrong.”
When asked about reporting indicating he did not perform any services with the company, Leonard said “I don’t think it’s accurate.”
“I understand that full contract and the services that I had to do,” Leonard said. “Like I said, I don’t deal with the conspiracies or the clickbait analysts or journalism that’s going on. … It’s old. This is all new to you guys. The company went bankrupt a while ago. We already knew this was going to happen.”
When Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March of this year, Leonard was listed as a creditor through KL2 Aspire LLC, a company linked to Leonard and Robertson. When asked if he was owed the remaining $7 million that was listed in the bankruptcy filing, Leonard said, “I got to look back at the books, but nah, it was more than that.
“The company went belly up,” Leonard said. “It was fraud, as everybody knows. If you want any more questions or more details about that company, you need to ask the owner or whoever else is involved in the fraud that went on.”
Frank went on to say that endorsement contracts are “completely separate” from player contracts, and while he had “no idea” about how much any player makes in such arrangements, he was confident that the league would see “the entire truth” as part of the league investigation.
“If you’re looking for a distraction, you can find one,” Frank said Monday when explaining how his team plans to go about training camp amid a growing scandal. “I think what makes athletes so special is their ability just to focus on things they can control. They have great pride in being Clippers. So obviously, they don’t want to hear any disparaging remarks, allegations, accusations. Yet at the same time, they’re focused on playing, competing and bringing their best.”
When asked how he will approach focusing on the tasks at hand, Leonard reiterated that he had no concerns while relating the situation to last January’s wildfires that hit the Southern California area.
“We’re just going to keep going as any other season. My name might pop up, but it is what it is,” Leonard said. “I’ve been through times like this before, just going through the year last year with going through the fire. Soon as I came back, that first game, my house and my community caught on fire. So I don’t think it’s going to be harder than that.”
(Photo: Barry Gossage / NBAE via Getty Images)