Why Kawhi Leonard got off easy in Clippers cap circumvention punishment

After many months of foot-dragging and conspicuous silence, the NBA has finally rendered its judgement on the alleged cap circumvention of the L.A. Clippers and Kawhi Leonard. In what is perhaps the least shocking development of all time, yes: The league's investigation found that the Clippers did in fact circumvent the cap. More shocking, however, is the extent to which Adam Silver is punishing the Clippers.

Los Angeles will forfeit five first-round picks, one per year between 2029-2033, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all team and NBA activities for a year, while team presidents Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker are also being suspended. Ballmer owes $30 million in fines; Leonard owes $700,000 in restitution for "improper benefits" afforded to his uncle and former agent Dennis Robertson, with the latter banned from all NBA business dealings. Leonard will not face a contract void or suspension, however.

Why is Kawhi Leonard getting off (almost) scot-free in NBA's cap circumvention punishment?

The summer of Kawhi Leonard continues undeterred! Kawhi has been living it up this summer, appearing at various sporting events in Toronto after his reported (but not finalized) trade to the Raptors. He also went on a business trip to China, dropped a rap album and has generally appeared happier and more outgoing than usual.

It's easy to read Leonard's very public offseason as a P.R. move, hoping to generate some goodwill and favorable distractions. And now that he's getting off with basically a slap on the wrist for his part in helping the Clippers knowingly circumvent the cap, it seems like everything is coming up roses for the two-time Finals MVP.

His trade to the Raptors should now pass without further incident. He can get the fresh start he desires and play for an under-the-radar contender in the revamped Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, it's Ballmer and the Clippers who will bear the brunt of the blame — and the punishment.

Los Angeles as an organization is certainly most at fault for this. This isn't really a storyline if the Clippers simply tell Uncle Dennis "no" when he asked for extra kickbacks. Kawhi's actual contract was entirely above board; he signed for the legal max. It's the off-court benefits that were not so legal. So, banning his then-agent (whom Leonard smartly fired in June) and asking for restitution does, in theory, clean up the mess from Leonard's standpoint. This allows the league to keep Leonard on your TV screens next season, in a major international market, while the Clippers (little brothers to the Lakers in their own market) quietly suffer out of the national spotlight.

That's probably the extent of the story here. Leonard was not acting entirely of his own accord when these business dealings went down. The Clippers were his employer, helmed by one of the richest men in human history. The extraneous benefits appeared to be aimed as much at Uncle Dennis as Leonard, if not more so. Leonard was not ambivalent to Uncle Dennis' requests nor blameless in this illicit affair, but it would've felt a bit disproportionate to void his contract when the Clippers benefitted the most, financially and competitively, from his decision to abandon the reigning champs in Toronto. This was a case of the Clippers wielding their financial power and bending the rules to build a contender from scratch.

Leonard, to his credit, released a statement taking responsibility for "lapses in judgement" by people in his inner circle.

At the end of the day, it's impossible for us to know, from the outside, just how involved Leonard was in the actual circumvention. He signed faux endorsement deals and clearly benefitted from the arrangement beyond what the NBA rules allow, but he was also under the influence of his agent (and a family member, no less). The billionaire employer and front office execs who pulled all the strings taking more of a fall than the employee checks out. We can quibble over the minute details of the punishment, but at the end of the day, Leonard gets the play basketball and we can all, as a society, finally move on from this never-ending story. That's a win for the NBA fandom.

This should ideally prevent teams from trying to engineer similar backroom deals in the future, which is most important. The NBA needed to set a standard for all 30 organizations and did just that.

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