This summer has been a wild one for Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers.
Ever since podcaster Pablo Torre reported that Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal for a “no-show job” with a tree-planting company funded by $50 million from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, it’s been story after story about what it took for Kawhi to become a Clipper and how legal or not any of it is.
This has quickly become one of the biggest scandals in the NBA and luckily for the Lakers, they are not involved in any way.
However, the Lakers were one of the teams that were trying to sign Kawhi back in the summer of 2019. Did they have any experience dealing with any odd demands from Leonard and his uncle Dennis Robertson when they were courting the superstar?
On Wednesday, Baxter Holmes published a piece on ESPN stating that Leonard had a bunch of requests for any team wanting his services, including off-court endorsement money, a private plane and ownership stake.
Acquiring George was one of several requests made by Leonard and his camp, led by Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, who outlined a series of asks for the Clippers in the days leading up to July 5.
Those requests included part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money, one source with direct knowledge of the talks said. They were the same requests that, according to The Athletic, Robertson made of the Lakers and the Raptors.
The Toronto Star reported on Sept. 9 that Robertson also asked the Raptors for ownership stakes in outside companies and corporate sponsorship deals in which Leonard wouldn’t have to do anything in return for the money. Robertson did not respond to requests for comment for either story.
If these allegations are true, you have to shake your head in astonishment that one, Kawhi asked for all of this, and two, that he actually got it. This is quickly becoming a story that seems stranger than fiction, but sometimes reality is wilder than even our most ridiculous fantasies.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of the Lakers refusing to give in to Kawhi’s demands.
In 2019, a Bleacher Report piece by Tyler Conway outlined these requests as something Lakers owner Jeanie Buss declined to agree to, as it would have violated the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
Add a report from John Karalis in the Boston Sports Journal stating that Kawhi received an additional $28 million from Aspiration and it seems that being in the Kawhi business is a sketchy and expensive proposition.
It certainly seems like the Lakers avoided a lot of headaches by not agreeing to whatever Leonard and Uncle Dennis were asking for. At the end of the day, rules are in place and they have to be followed, or else there can be some extreme consequences heading your way.
With the NBA investigating the situation involving Kawhi and the Clippers, we can expect to receive more information on what Kawhi was promised, what he actually received, and whether it complies with NBA rules.
Now, Adam Silver will have another big decision to make regarding the punishment he gives out for this.
If it’s nothing or a slap on the wrist, it’ll give teams the green light to set up similar deals with free agents. So, whatever Silver does, he’d better have a good reason for it.
The NBA needs to thoroughly investigate this so they have all the facts on what has occurred between Kawhi and the Clippers over the years.
Regardless of what happens, this story is far from over. We’ll be learning more about Kawhi, Uncle Dennis and the Clippers during the rest of this investigation.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
