Kawhi Leonard is currently involved in an investigation regarding a contract he signed with Aspiration, a company that is backed by Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. It is a complex situation that alleges Leonard signed a deal with Aspiration and took a pay cut on a team-friendly deal to help the franchise save money on the salary cap. NBA agents and the NBPA weigh in on some of the details of the situation.
Some of the wording in the contract includes language claiming that the 34-year-old forward can decline attending anything due to his “beliefs,” according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN. It's a vague description that's brought mixed reactions from NBA agents and the NBPA.
At least three agents felt there was nothing out of the ordinary with the language of Kawhi Leonard's contract with Aspiration. However, two claim that the “beliefs” description in the contract was odd.
“Two additional agents singled out the ‘beliefs' clause, with one saying, ‘I've never seen a player have the right to decline to do something due to beliefs. A good lawyer would have at least said bona fide religious beliefs,'” reported Holmes. Another, the fifth agent, made a similar remark, adding that it could represent an ‘amazing negotiation and/or an inexperienced lawyer on behalf of Aspiration.'”
The NBPA seemed to agree with those two agents, as the players' union believes the term “beliefs” is a bit too vague and favors Kawhi Leonard in the contract. But the NBPA also admitted that Aspiration was not managed well, as the company went bankrupt shortly after the seven-time All-Star signed the deal.
“There is nothing in that contract that is inconsistent with the regular course of business,” the NBPA told ESPN. “The only thing that stands out is that language that says ‘consistent with his beliefs, which is too broad and too vague. And that is really just a question of good negotiation.
“‘If a lawyer said, ‘Look, we want to have this language as broad as possible because we can't sit here today and envision all the promotional activities you may be asking Kawhi to do,' and if the lawyer for Aspiration is stupid enough to say, OK, we'll allow that,' then that's just good negotiation by Kawhi's team. But there's nothing on the face of that contract that suggests that this was all orchestrated.'”
The investigation involving Kawhi Leonard alleges he signed a four-year contract with Aspirtion for $28 million for marketing, while he also accepted $20 million in stocks. The investigation is ongoing, and more details are bound to be revealed at a later time.
