Was Kawhi Leonard’s punishment too light? ‘I think it could have been worse’

Shortly after NBA commissioner Adam Silver handed the Los Angeles Clippers the most severe punishment for salary cap circumvention in over a quarter of a century, star forward Kawhi Leonard, the central figure of the yearlong investigation, released a statement:

“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.  

“I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap.  

“For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with. As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”

Because of the scope and magnitude of the myriad offenses committed by all parties involved over the course of Leonard’s time with the franchise — as well as the potential ramifications that tend to follow major investigations — folks around the league expressed varied emotions: gratitude to the commissioner’s office for stepping in and course-correcting, admittance that the penalty was lessened to an extent and could be further ameliorated, and overall understanding that illegalities took place. 

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“I think it could have been worse,” an anonymous NBA player told Yahoo Sports. “$700,000 probably ain’t nothing to [Leonard], so he can just pay it and get back to playing. He didn’t get suspended or anything. Be careful. Watch what you got going on.”

“They gave a ruling that made it seem like [the circumvention offense] wasn’t right, but also they didn’t try to kill them all the way — to me,” an assistant coach said. “This is going to put everybody on notice to take that seriously. Glad something was done to help level the playing field a little bit.”

We don’t need to rehash the terms of the NBA’s ruling; I’m sure anyone reading this by now is well aware of the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/was-kawhi-leonards-punishment-too-light-i-think-it-could-have-been-worse-024508646.html

Author : Kelly Iko

Publish date : 2026-09-03 02:45:00

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