On Wednesday, Pablo Torre reported on his podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out," that Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard signed a contract through his LLC with an LLC associated with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for $28 million. The contract was reportedly for a "no-show job," and the NBA is opening an investigation into whether the team violated salary cap rules.
It is a reminder to Los Angeles Lakers fans that the Lakers were in hot pursuit of Leonard during the summer of 2019. When Leonard decided to head to L.A.'s other team, the Purple and Gold instantly executed their backup plan in free agency, and it was good enough to bring them an NBA championship during the 2019-20 season.
It may have been a stroke of good fortune that the Lakers missed out on Leonard. For one thing, it would've jammed them up against the salary cap due to his contract, as well as the contracts of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, making it very difficult for them to fill out the rest of their roster with quality role players.
In addition, one NBA executive says that the team "dodged a massive bullet" because of the major downsides to having Leonard on a team.
Via Lakers Daily:
“The Lakers wanted Kawhi badly,” the NBA exec said. “Boy, they dodged a massive bullet by not landing him. You think Rich [Paul] and LeBron are hard to deal with? Uncle Dennis (Dennis Robertson) is even worse. He thinks Kawhi is the second coming of Jesus.
“The Lakers dodged a massive bullet by not getting Kawhi. The guy barely plays, doesn’t market the team he’s on and now he’s in the news for the wrong reasons for the second time since signing with the Clippers. This has been a huge headache for Ballmer and Co.”
Robertson acts as Leonard's business representative, and during free agency negotiations in 2019, he reportedly made a shady request, something which the Lakers didn't want to fulfill.
"Leonard’s uncle and chief business partner, Dennis Robertson, asked teams for improper benefits in 2019, according to The Athletic. Jeanie Buss and the Lakers were not interested at all in giving Robertson and Leonard what they wanted, sources told Lakers Daily."
When Leonard joined the Clippers, he was joined by fellow star forward Paul George, who had just been traded there. Instantly, the squad became the media's favorite to win the NBA championship. But in six seasons with Leonard and five with both Leonard and George, it has gotten to the Western Conference finals just once and hasn't won a playoff series since 2021.
Leonard has appeared in 266 games with the Clippers in six seasons and has logged more than 57 games in one season just once. He's now 34 years of age and is possibly in slow decline, as his scoring average has gradually dropped since joining them.
Meanwhile, while the Lakers may not have a true championship-caliber roster right now, they do have Luka Doncic at age 26, and LeBron James will still be around for at least a little longer. Their long-term future looks fairly bright, while that of the Clippers is limited and even murky.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: NBA executive feels Lakers lucked out by not signing Kawhi Leonard
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