Clippers are even more doomed if new Kawhi Leonard update is true

According to Pablo Torre of The Athletic, celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Drake had endorsement deals with Aspiration, too, but Kawhi Leonard made four times more than they did. If the initial reporting was bad news for the LA Clippers, then this update makes things even worse for the organization.

It’s one thing for Leonard to have a suspicious deal with a company backed by Steve Ballmer, but the fact that he made that much more than the other people who had contracts with Aspiration makes it even clearer that there was some funny business going on. If nothing else, this update makes Ballmer and Leonard look more guilty than before.

And that’s not good news.

What happens next with Kawhi Leonard?

The NBA has launched a formal investigation into Leonard, Ballmer, and the Clippers, regarding the star’s suspicious endorsement deal with Aspiration. However, no further update has been provided from the league’s side of things.

Should Leonard and the Clippers be found guilty of circumventing the salary cap, then a whole new conversation needs to be started: What would the appropriate punishment be for the organization?

When Joe Smith and the Minnesota Timberwolves attempted to get around cap rules in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were severely punished. Smith’s contracts were voided, and the Wolves were forced to forfeit five straight years of first-round picks (though two were eventually returned).

That said, the Clippers don’t have picks to give up. In fact, they don’t control their own first-rounder until 2030. They have swaps in 2027 and 2029, so perhaps their selection of the two could be stripped, but that’s still dangerous territory.

During a recent interview, Ballmer claimed that he and the Clippers committed no wrongdoing. However, this most recent update makes things look even worse for Leonard and the team.

Why would he be making that much more than every other celebrity who had a deal with Aspiration? Could it really be a coincidence that he makes that much more, and Ballmer donated as much as he did? It all seems too damning to be true, and where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

It’s unclear how long the NBA’s investigation into the matter will take, but with the season right around the corner, this all puts a huge cloud over the Clippers’ upcoming campaign.

Will Leonard be available to play? Will they be punished from a draft pick perspective, or worse, lose Leonard altogether?