After a near-yearlong investigation, the Los Angeles Clippers have been fined $30 million, the largest team fine in NBA history, for circumventing the salary cap to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration.
Leonard has also been fined $700,000 for his involvement, while the Clippers will forfeit five first-round draft picks. Additionally, team owner Steve Ballmer (one year) and executives Gillian Zucker (one year) and Lawrence Frank (six months) have each been suspended.
The debacle began when Leonard and his uncle/business advisor Dennis Robertson sought out under-the-table endorsement deals. Following the NBA’s crackdown, fueled by investigative journalist Pablo Torre’s initial findings last year, Stephen A. Smith unleashed a fiery rant about the two-time NBA champion’s relatively light penalty.
Stephen A. Smith Goes Berserk Over Kawhi Leonard’s $700K Fine for Clippers Scandal
On Wednesday, Smith posted a clip from his podcast disapproving of what Leonard and his camp did, with the caption, “Kawhi Leonard is the WORST!” The outspoken ESPN analyst elaborated by saying:
“He is the absolute worst superstar in the history of American sports. Kawhi Leonard got off easy. $700,000 in restitution? He owes tens of millions of dollars for the amount of time he’s taken off work. Kawhi Leonard should give masterclasses on how to get paid for not working.
“This has got his fingerprints written all over it. Now, I know his uncle, Dennis Robertson, has been banned. It should be for life because this man, he doesn’t mind cutting corners and circumventing whatever rules or regulations, clearly not just to pad Kawhi Leonard’s pockets, but his own.”
Leonard parted ways with Robertson as his advisor in July, and opted to be represented by SLASH Sports’ Harrison Gaines amid his pending trade to the Toronto Raptors.
Gaines served as a business attorney for Leonard over the past year, so he isn’t a new addition to “The Klaw’s” camp.
Smith went on to further address “Uncle Dennis'” firing, saying, “You had him all of these years. While you were collecting all of these benefits, having a pretty [expletive] good idea that there was some illegal activity going on, and now look what has happened.”
Kawhi Leonard is the WORST!
Hear my reaction on Youtube and join the conversation now! pic.twitter.com/7pFMeWKUYG
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 2, 2026
Leonard released a statement following the NBA’s ruling, taking “full responsibility for lapses in judgement” by people within his “inner circle.”
He went on to say, “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.”
Leonard’s contract hasn’t been voided. With the information that’s been made public thus far, he will earn $50.3 million in the 2026-27 season, likely as a member of the Raptors. If he doesn’t sign an extension with them, he will enter unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2027.
This isn’t the end of the Clippers-Leonard saga, however. On his podcast following the NBA’s verdict, Torre said, “There is more to come than is in the NBA report. This is not everything.”
It’s unclear what more Torre or the NBA will reveal in the coming days/weeks. However, if it further implicates Leonard, it may not result in merely a $700k fine.
