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Kawhi Leonard has been accused of another salary cap circumvention scandal.
Kawhi Leonard may be the quietest player in the NBA who seems to mind his own business more than anyone, but that hasn't stopped him from being the most dramatic player of the last year.
Last offseason, Leonard was accused of having a $28 million no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration that is being investigated for NBA cap circumvention. However, that doesn't seem to be the only drama that Leonard is at the epicenter of.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
On a quiet Thursday night, Leonard was accused of having another secret multi-million dollar sponsorship again.
During the latest episode of 'Pablo Torre Finds Out', Leonard was accused of having a secret multi-million dollar deal with the Clippers' scoreboard manufacturer, Daktronics.
Included in the episode, Torre claims a source who was under contract for the Clippers' Intuit Dome said, "It was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap." Torre has the source speak firsthand during the episode.
Torre essentially accuses the Clippers of funding Kawhi Leonard's partnership with Daktronics, since the tech company doesn't typically sponsor anyone, so that the money could be funnelled back to Kawhi Leonard. Daktronics has no public history of using any kind of celebrity endorsement, which is what makes the accusation very curious.
However, despite Torre's claims, there still isn't legitimate, concrete evidence proving that Leonard's sponsorship with the brand was to circumvent the salary cap. At the same time, when there's smoke, there's fire, and there's a lot of smoke around Kawhi Leonard.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
It was also reported that Leonard does not have an active contract with the company.
With the length of time that the NBA is taking for this investigation, in all likelihood, this latest accusation may not change anything. It's not more damning than the Aspiration scandal, which involved the company's co-founder being sentenced to 14 years in federal prison by a judge. At the same time, it's a big deal to have two accusations.
The layers of scandal from top to bottom are much heavier when it comes to the Aspiration controversy than this Daktronics one. Even with all of that, the Clippers and Toronto Raptors still agreed to make a trade for Leonard. There has to be a certain level of understanding between both the LA Clippers and the Toronto Raptors for that to happen.
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
If the trade between the Clippers and Raptors gets called off, it'll be because of the Aspiration investigation, likely not because of this new Daktronics one - which could just be icing on the cake. Even then, it's likely that the NBA already knows about this situation as well.
However, unless Leonard's contract is voided or he's suspended for a full season, it feels like both teams are determined to get the trade through. The Raptors had to have known that there's a chance of Leonard getting suspended for 20-30 games.
William Liang-Imagn Images
At the same time, there have been so many reports, ranging from the Clippers being fearful to them being comfortable with the final outcome, that it's a bit hard to know what to believe now.
Continue reading...
Kawhi Leonard may be the quietest player in the NBA who seems to mind his own business more than anyone, but that hasn't stopped him from being the most dramatic player of the last year.
Last offseason, Leonard was accused of having a $28 million no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration that is being investigated for NBA cap circumvention. However, that doesn't seem to be the only drama that Leonard is at the epicenter of.
You must be registered for see images attach
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
On a quiet Thursday night, Leonard was accused of having another secret multi-million dollar sponsorship again.
What Was the Latest Accusation?
During the latest episode of 'Pablo Torre Finds Out', Leonard was accused of having a secret multi-million dollar deal with the Clippers' scoreboard manufacturer, Daktronics.
Included in the episode, Torre claims a source who was under contract for the Clippers' Intuit Dome said, "It was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap." Torre has the source speak firsthand during the episode.
Torre essentially accuses the Clippers of funding Kawhi Leonard's partnership with Daktronics, since the tech company doesn't typically sponsor anyone, so that the money could be funnelled back to Kawhi Leonard. Daktronics has no public history of using any kind of celebrity endorsement, which is what makes the accusation very curious.
However, despite Torre's claims, there still isn't legitimate, concrete evidence proving that Leonard's sponsorship with the brand was to circumvent the salary cap. At the same time, when there's smoke, there's fire, and there's a lot of smoke around Kawhi Leonard.
You must be registered for see images attach
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
It was also reported that Leonard does not have an active contract with the company.
Does This Accusation Change Anything?
With the length of time that the NBA is taking for this investigation, in all likelihood, this latest accusation may not change anything. It's not more damning than the Aspiration scandal, which involved the company's co-founder being sentenced to 14 years in federal prison by a judge. At the same time, it's a big deal to have two accusations.
The layers of scandal from top to bottom are much heavier when it comes to the Aspiration controversy than this Daktronics one. Even with all of that, the Clippers and Toronto Raptors still agreed to make a trade for Leonard. There has to be a certain level of understanding between both the LA Clippers and the Toronto Raptors for that to happen.
You must be registered for see images attach
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
If the trade between the Clippers and Raptors gets called off, it'll be because of the Aspiration investigation, likely not because of this new Daktronics one - which could just be icing on the cake. Even then, it's likely that the NBA already knows about this situation as well.
However, unless Leonard's contract is voided or he's suspended for a full season, it feels like both teams are determined to get the trade through. The Raptors had to have known that there's a chance of Leonard getting suspended for 20-30 games.
You must be registered for see images attach
William Liang-Imagn Images
At the same time, there have been so many reports, ranging from the Clippers being fearful to them being comfortable with the final outcome, that it's a bit hard to know what to believe now.
Continue reading...
