ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went nuclear on Kawhi Leonard after the Los Angeles Clippers’ salary cap scandal, torching the league’s soft punishment for a guy who just packed his bags back to Toronto.
« For him to cause all the trouble that he’s caused for this organization and to walk away with nothing more than having to surrender $700,000 worth of restitution is a crime, » Smith said on First Take. « Kawhi Leonard … he’s a gangster. »
The NBA dropped the hammer on the Clippers with the most brutal penalty in league history: a $30 million fine, five lost first-round picks, and a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer.
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Investigators blew the lid off a shady scheme using sponsors like Aspiration and Daktronics to route millions in under-the-table cash to Leonard and his uncle, Dennis Robertson. The mess even triggered federal and SEC probes, plus a five-year NBA ban for Robertson.
Yet Leonard got off with a lousy $700,000 fine, zero suspension, and a ticket straight back to Toronto.
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Smith spelled out how Leonard let management take the bullet while he skated away untouched.
« He broke the rules, got caught, pointed the finger at somebody else, threw the organization under the bus, got his money and left the country, » Smith said. « I mean, [expletive], how much better can it get than that? »
Despite federal and SEC probes into the illicit side deals, the NBA let Leonard walk with a $700,000 restitution fee. In the end, it was a minor handling charge for a guy clearing nearly $50 million annually. He even waived a $7.45 million trade kicker to guarantee his exit back to Canada.
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The Clippers got hit with $30 million in fines, surrendered five first-round picks, and lost their owner for a year. Meanwhile, Kawhi blamed his inner circle, claimed total ignorance and hopped on a flight to Toronto without missing a single game.
Smith got this one dead right: Kawhi pulled off the ultimate hustle.
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Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/stephen-a-smith-calls-out-nba-star-kawhi-leonard-letting-clippers-take-fall-salary-cap-scandal
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Publish date : 2026-09-16 02:46:00
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