Draymond Green Weighs In on Kawhi Leonard Punishment After Hidden Sponsorship Deal Emerges

In 2000, the Minnesota Timberwolves were stripped of five first-round draft picks and fined $3.5 million. For a secret handshake agreement with Joe Smith that circumvented the salary cap by promising him a below-market deal in exchange for future security. The league wanted to send a message that cap manipulation would cost a franchise dearly. As the league investigates a similar scheme involving Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green isn’t convinced anyone actually learned that lesson, and he thinks the punishment itself might be the real problem.

Speaking on his own show, Green reacted to the latest development in the NBA’s ongoing investigation into Leonard and the LA Clippers.

“If the punishments aren’t steep, everybody should do it,” Green said. “If it’s just gonna be a slap on the wrist, then everybody should do it, and every player should be trying to do it."

"I think this raises the question about the salary cap — we’re playing in a league where a team just sold for $12.5 billion," he continued. "Let the punishment be getting rid of the salary cap.”

The comments come after Pablo Torre reported that Leonard had a second hidden, multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal. This time with Daktronics, the company that built the Clippers’ 38,000-square-foot “Halo Board” scoreboard inside Intuit Dome.

Torre’s source described it: “It was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi.” There is said to be no evidence Leonard performed any actual endorsement work for Daktronics as part of the arrangement. The defining feature of a “no-show” deal, and the same pattern that first triggered the league’s investigation.

That original case involved a four-year, $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard’s LLC, KL2 Aspire, and Aspiration. A now-bankrupt sustainability company that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had personally funded with a $50 million investment just weeks before the Clippers announced a $300 million sponsorship deal with the same company.

Torre’s reporting found no instance of Kawhi Leonard ever promoting or even mentioning Aspiration publicly. Despite other celebrities, including Bucks coach Doc Rivers, actively endorsing the company during the same period.

A clause in one of the documents reportedly stated the deal would be voided entirely if Leonard ever left the Clippers. Language that, if accurate, tied the payment directly to his roster status rather than any promotional value.

Under the league’s 2023 collective bargaining agreement, circumvention penalties can include fines up to $7.5 million, forfeiture of draft picks, voiding of the player’s contract, and suspensions of up to a year for team personnel involved.

Leonard’s below-max extension, three years, $149.5 million, signed in January 2024- roughly $10 million under the maximum he could have received - was, at the time, celebrated as the blueprint for how star-driven rosters could be built under the new CBA.

Commissioner Adam Silver reportedly hopes to conclude the investigation before next season begins. A potential Leonard trade to Toronto has been put on hold pending the outcome. The Clippers have repeatedly and firmly denied any wrongdoing, stating in an official release: “Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap.”