Teams May Pounce on Kawhi If He Becomes Available

There are starting to be some rumblings that the Los Angeles Clippers may actually face real punishment for the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration scandal. This story was all the talk before the season as it was revealed that there may have been some funny business with Kawhi’s signing with the Clippers and endorsement deal with Aspiration. 

While the investigation is still ongoing, some are talking about possible penalties the Clippers organization may face if they are found guilty of salary-cap circumvention or something similar. One of those possible punishments could be the voiding of Leonard’s contract, making him a free agent. 

Tom Habestroh of Yahoo Sports hypothesized about the potential fallout from Kawhi becoming a free agent. 

“I think if Kawhi Leonard is now a free agent, you’re going to see a frenzy for his services with the likes of the Lakers, with the likes of the Golden State Warriors, or the New York Knicks. They would try to go get Kawhi Leonard at this stage as a free agent. That would actually create more chaos.”

The NBA certainly wants to limit the drama surrounding this scandal. However, they also probably want to make sure the Clippers learn their lesson. Voiding Kawhi’s contract would certainly be a sign to both the Clippers and the rest of the league that cap circumvention is a serious offense and will not be tolerated. 

The only issue is, as Habestroh mentions, making Kawhi a free agent would add much more chaos to the situation. That’s why if the Clippers are to be punished, taking draft capital or placing salary restrictions on them may be more effective.