Under investigation into allegations of impermissible payments to skirt salary-cap rules, Kawhi Leonard also had an undisclosed multi-million-dollar deal with Daktronics, the company that designed the video board at the Los Angeles Clippers’ home arena, the podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” reported on Thursday.
An unnamed source told the podcast that the sponsorship was “1000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi.”
Neither the NBA nor the Clippers had responded to requests for comment as of Thursday night, according to The Athletic and ESPN.
It was unknown when the reported sponsorship deal began, but according to a spokesperson for Daktronics, Leonard is not under contract with the company, per the report.
Daktronics designed “The Halo Board” inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., the Clippers’ $2 billion arena that opened two years ago, and has produced video boards for several other NBA teams, according to its website.
Last September, the NBA said it was looking into the Clippers for potential violations tied to an allegation they used a company, banking firm Aspiration, to pay Leonard $28 million. Reportedly nothing was asked of Leonard in the “no-show job” that left open concern it was a loophole to pad the amount of guaranteed money the Clippers offered when they signed him as a free agent.
Aspiration went bankrupt last year, and its co-founder wound up in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges involving $248 million.
The Toronto Raptors, who lost Leonard in free agency after winning the 2019 NBA championship, agreed in principle to a trade five weeks ago to bring him back. The deal hasn’t been completed, and the NBA made it clear Toronto “would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi.”
“In light of this,” the Raptors stated, “we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”
The Clippers, who have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Leonard’s contract, also confirmed the deal was on hold.
Leonard, 35, is a two-time NBA Finals MVP, having won the award in title runs with the San Antonio Spurs (2014) and Toronto.
Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games for the Clippers last season. A seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, he has made the NBA’s All-Defensive Team seven times.
