The Los Angeles Clippers have been trying to stay afloat in the Western Conference playoff standings as of late, recently picking up a home win over the Milwaukee Bucks in blowout fashion. Through it all, Kawhi Leonard has been playing arguably the best basketball of his career, continuing to terrorize opponents on the defensive end of the floor while scoring with incredible efficiency on offense.
Coming into the season, the big story surrounding the Clippers was the accusation from Pablo Torre that the Clippers had attempted to circumvent the NBA salary cap by funneling money to Leonard through a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration. The NBA has since stepped in to investigate the matter, and they have yet to make a ruling on the scandal.
Recently, NBA journalist Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated speculated on what could happen if things don't go the way the Clippers want them to.
“They might decide to void Kawhi's contract because we deem it invalid…” said Mannix, per NBA Base on X, formerly Twitter.
“I hear about it every single arena I go to, all the conversations I have with league and team officials, this comes up,” he added.
It would certainly be a doomsday scenario for a Clippers team that has essentially all of its chances of competing tied to Leonard at the current juncture. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard himself has consistently denied the allegations.
The last time the NBA had a situation similar to this, involving Joe Smith and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early 2000s, many suspensions were handed out, as well as the loss of a first-round draft pick.
In any case, the Clippers will next take the floor on Wednesday evening for a home game against the Toronto Raptors.
