ESPN star Stephen A. Smith isn’t happy with the way the NBA reacted to the Los Angeles Clippers circumventing the league’s salary cap with its contract for Kawhi Leonard in 2022.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will be suspended for one year for “knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities.” The Clippers have also been forced to forfeit their first-round picks for the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.
Leonard, meanwhile, will have to pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits. He won’t be suspended for the season and will be allowed to join the Toronto Raptors via trade.
During this Thursday’s episode of “First Take,” Smith said the NBA’s light punishment for Leonard is disgraceful.
“Adam Silver letting Kawhi Leonard getting away with this with a $700,000 restitution payment and you’re still able to leave the country is disgraceful,” Smith said. “Kawhi Leonard would be suspended for the year or he would pay that money back. The brother getting over $40 million a year, I’m getting that back if I’m the NBA.”
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images.
The Clippers are fighting back.
After the NBA announced that it’s suspending Ballmer and stripping the Clippers of five first-round draft picks, the team issued a fiery statement.
“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence. What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s fairness and accuracy,” the Clippers said. “For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”
Leonard’s statement on this matter was a bit different to say the least.
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family. I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap,” Leonard said in his statement. “For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”
If we had to guess, this saga is far from over.
