NBA President Adam Silver publicly addressed the alleged ‘No-Show Job’ scandal involving Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. A few days ago, sports podcaster Pablo Torre accused Leonard of reportedly being paid $28 million by the Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for a ‘no show job’ as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap. While Ballmer and the Clippers strongly denied the allegations, the league launched an investigation and hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz for the same.
On Wednesday, Silver talked to the media following a Board of Governors meeting, where the other ownership groups questioned Ballmer and his involvement in the case. Talking about the same, Silver said that it was news to him when he first heard of it, while adding that he had never heard of anything around the endorsement deal. “Frankly, I had never heard of the company Aspiration before, and I’d never heard a whiff of anything around an endorsement deal with Kawhi or anything around an engagement with the Los Angeles Clippers, so it was all new to me.”
At the center of the allegations is a four-year deal worth $28 million that Leonard signed for working with Aspiration, a bankrupt company which was financially backed by Ballmer. Not only this, but Silver also said that NBA’s general counsel and chief compliance officer Rick Buchanan talked to Steve Ballmer. After their conversation, the league came to the conclusion that the entire fiasco rose to the level that required an investigation.
Adam Silver said that if the investigation finds that the salary cap circumvention occurred, he holds power to impose penalties and punishments on the parties involved. “My powers are very broad. I have a full range of financial penalties, draft picks, suspensions, et cetera. I have very broad powers in these situations.”
Notably, if the Clippers are found guilty, they could face some harsh penalties. As per Article XIII of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a fine of up to $4.5 million for the first-time violation could be imposed on the Clippers. In case of a second violation, a $5.5 million fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft pick would be imposed.
Another section of the same article prohibits unauthorized agreements. Violation of the section would result in a fine of up to $7.5 million, forfeiture of draft picks, and the voiding of player contracts along with a fine of $350K on the player. In addition, the player would be prohibited from signing an additional contract with the violating team. The team personnel found to have engaged in such violation would face a one-year suspension.
Notably, the NBA imposed a $250K fine on the team just a year after Ballmer purchased it. The Clippers were found to have been involved in impropriety with third-party endorsements under him. While they were pursuing DeAndre Jordan in free agency, the Clippers were found guilty of “violating NBA rules prohibiting teams from offering players unauthorized business or investment opportunities.”
As per Silver, the league would “let the investigation run its course”, while saying that he has been in the league for a considerable amount of time and with his vast experience of allegations and accusations, he believes in due process and fairness.
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