Punishment for Clippers More Likely After Latest Kawhi Leonard Investigation Details

The Los Angeles Clippers' offseason has been put on hold as we await the conclusion of the league's investigation into the cap circumvention allegations. After the Toronto Raptors found out that they may be on the hook for the potential punishment, they decided to wait before finalizing the trade. This puts both teams in a limbo.

More importantly, however, it makes a punishment for the Clippers more likely. The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov revealed a few more details from the investigation earlier this week. He mentioned that the law firm hired by the NBA, Wachtell Lipton, has expanded the scope of the investigation.

Likelihood of a Punishment for Clippers Has Increased Dramatically

In addition to the allegations regarding the third-party company Aspiration, the law firm reportedly looked into the Clippers' covering Leonard's expenses without any reimbursements. They also investigated whether Leonard had an endorsement deal with another company.

This has likely caused the delays in the conclusion of the investigation. It also suggests that there may be more things to look into, which increases the likelihood of a penalty.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed this in his remarks on Tuesday. While he admitted that the process has taken longer than he initially thought, he wants to give time to the firm to wrap things up. He said that he didn't want to force a timeline and end the investigation before Wachtell Lipton feels like it's complete.

On one hand, it's embarrassing that this has taken this long and is now affecting the decision-making process of two franchises. On the other hand, it makes sense that the league takes this seriously enough to deter future instances of potential cap circumvention.

If the league wanted to let the Clippers off the hook with a slap on the wrist, they probably would have done that already. They could have set a deadline for the law firm before the summer and allowed the Clippers to conduct business as usual.

Now that this has gone all the way past mid-July, it's gotten increasingly harder to imagine the league won't punish the Clippers.

The important part is, what will the punishment entail?

It could involve stripping draft picks and penalties for owner Steve Ballmer and GM Lawrence Frank. These penalties could be financial or more related to involvement with the organization.

Leonard may also get suspended for a period. This could affect the trade with the Raptors. Voiding his contract remains an option, as well. In that scenario, the trade would be cancelled, and Leonard would hit unrestricted free agency.

Each passing day, unfortunately, increases the likelihood of a Clippers punishment. At this point, it might be more about when and to what extent they face penalties rather than if.

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