Clippers Offering DeAndre Jordan $250K in 2015 Resurfaces Amid Kawhi Leonard’s $28M Report

Kawhi Leonard is not a man of many words, but his actions certainly have the NBA world talking. The two-time NBA champion has become the focal point of a great controversy involving the Los Angeles Clippers circumventing the league’s salary cap. Amid the chaos and confusion, people have now begun to realize this isn’t the first time the Clippers have done something like this.

Leonard is rarely in the headlines, but when he is, it’s because of his inability to stay on the court. After an investigation by Pablo Torre,  Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer were found to have had a secret agreement. Leonard received a sponsorship payment of $28 million for Ballmer’s planting company, Aspiration, for a ‘No-show job.’

Leonard’s decision to sign a three-year $149 million contract extension in 2024 caught many people by surprise. The money wasn’t the problem, but the duration of the deal did seem a bit suspicious. Unlike other star players, it would’ve been in Leonard’s best interest to secure as many guaranteed years as he could. He chose not to, but it seems that extra money is reportedly coming from somewhere else.

The Clippers have adamantly denied these claims. A recent statement reads, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary-cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration.” Some may find that hard to believe, considering Ballmer has previously executed a similar tactic with DeAndre Jordan.

Ahead of the 2014-15 season, the Clippers were on the brink of losing All-NBA big man DeAndre Jordan. He had given the Dallas Mavericks and Mark Cuban a verbal agreement toward a contract, and yet it didn’t work out. The Clippers locked him in his house until they persuaded him to return, but their persuasion wasn’t just words.

Ballmer reportedly offered Jordan a Lexus sponsorship deal worth roughly $200,000 a year. The NBA didn’t take kindly to the Clippers’ attempt to circumvent the salary cap. As a result, the NBA fined the the franchise $250,000 for their actions. Luckily, that was the brute end of their punishment.

“While the NBA’s investigation ultimately concluded that the presentation of this opportunity had no impact on Jordan’s decision to re-sign with the Clippers, the team’s conduct nevertheless violated the league’s anti-circumvention rules,” the statement from the league read.

Jordan would go on to begin the next season with no complications. If history repeats itself, the Clippers would be subjected to be a severe financial punishment. That might not be the end of the world for the franchise though; after all, Ballmer is worth $153 billion. Unless of course, Adam Silver decides this is the time to make an example out of a repeat offender.