The fallout of the investigation into Clippers veteran Kawhi Leonard continues. As the NBA season begins, there will no getting around it and Commissioner Adam Silver understands that.
Given the details of the investigation that have come out, Silver continues to maintain a wait-and-see approach, per Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated/Hoops Hype
“Somebody asked me if circumstantial evidence is enough, and just as in a court of law, sometimes there’s direct evidence and sometimes there’s circumstantial evidence,” Silver said. “And certainly, circumstantial evidence alone doesn’t prevent findings for one particular side. But then, even in the case of circumstantial evidence, you look at the totality of the circumstances. So it’s not formulaic. We will look at everything that’s presented to us, and that includes inferences that come from evidence as well.”
When asked about whether the investigation will drag on, Silver says he doesn't know.
“I really don’t know. I can say it will take some time, just based on past experience. From the reporting so far, many of the sources are anonymous, but there are several of them. And you have here a separate court proceeding. We have a guilty plea [by Aspiration cofounder Joe Sanberg for wire fraud]. So there’s a fair amount of evidence for us to look at. The stakes are very high here. We, as a league, want to be careful and make sure that not only are we being fair to the Clippers and Steve Ballmer, but also that we have a true understanding of whatever happened here.”
How will this impact the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard?
The investigation into whether the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap with the now defunct company Aspiration will overshadow both this year and potentially beyond. If the NBA concludes that they did to give Leonard additional compensation through a no-show endorsement, then the Clippers could be penalized.
They would be levied with hefty fines and lose out on draft picks. Furthermore, the Clippers would have to be subjected to greater oversight when it involves endorsement deals with players.
Additionally, both the Clippers and Leonard will develop a poor reputation throughout the league. Leonard has denied the allegations.
