Uncle Dennis never called back. Never defended himself. Never even bothered to deny any of the accusations that would eventually lead to Wednesday’s stunning NBA ruling against the LA Clippers in this landmark salary cap circumvention case.
It was late winter 2019, some six months after Kawhi Leonard chose to sign with the Clippers and left the rival Lakers quite peeved in the process. The choice itself wasn’t the issue for the Lakers, who had hoped to pair him with LeBron James and Anthony Davis but saw him choose the other Los Angeles team instead. It was the fact that Uncle Dennis — Leonard’s uncle and representative at the time, Dennis Robertson — had spent so much of the free agency process making improper requests for money outside of his nephew’s player salary that they grew quite suspicious of the motives behind the choice.
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As The Athletic revealed at the time, back when Robertson opted on several occasions not to return those calls and address the growing suspicions that surrounded him, he had requested a number of items that were not permissible by league rules during discussions with the Lakers and the Toronto Raptors team for which Leonard had previously played. A small percentage of team ownership. A private plane that would be available at all times. A house. Last but most certainly not least, Robertson had asked for a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money that could be expected if Leonard signed with their respective team.
Even in this NBA world where superstar perks are an accepted part of the program, the audaciousness of these asks was deemed extraordinary by several sources who were part of the process. But the unanswered question — the one that journalist Pablo Torre explored on his Pulitzer-prize winning podcast and which led to the league’s investigation that lasted one day shy of a year — was whether the Clippers had been complicit in this alleged basketball crime.
The league’s long-awaited answer is a crushing blow to the Clippers, who have been vehement in their denials since the beginning and didn’t waver when they responded to the ruling by, in essence, screaming “See you in court!” The league, meanwhile, said in no uncertain terms that it expects these charges (and maybe more down the line) to stick.
“The NBA and the NBPA have entered into an agreement confirming these penalties are final and binding on all parties,” the release read. “Wachtell Lipton (the firm that conducted the investigation) continues to receive information relevant to the investigation, and the league will consider further action as appropriate.”
The NBA players union’s decision to support the league’s ruling is quite notable, as it takes the arbitration option off the table for the Clippers. And barring a (highly unlikely) change by way of the court system, this is the price the Clippers will pay for what is inarguably one of the worst player partnerships in the history of the game.
- The forfeiture of five first-round picks
- A $30 million team fine
- A one-year suspension for Clippers owner Steve Ballmer
- Suspensions without pay for two of the top Clippers executives, Gillian Zucker (president of business operations; one year) and Lawrence Frank (president of basketball operations; six months)
- Placement in the NBA-controlled compliance and monitoring program for five years
For Leonard’s part, he gets away (mostly) scot-free because of plausible deniability (he has to pay the league $700,000). Robertson was the point man for all of these illicit dealings that were detailed in the 35-page report, and as such was banned for five years from “conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee, or other league or team personnel.”
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Leonard’s decision to part ways with Robertson in the summer, after league sources say he was shown some of the early findings in the report, appears to have aided his cause when it came to culpability. Leonard is now expected to reunite with the Raptors after Toronto — likely fearing that Leonard’s contract might be voided — decided to pause the trade with the Clippers that was initially agreed upon in late June.
It’s fair to wonder, as the Clippers did in their statement, why NBA Commissioner Adam Silver didn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing when the league conducted an investigation seven years ago. Then again, that inquiry didn’t come amid the hysteria and headlines that were caused by Torre’s reporting or, for that matter, with the $50 million of Ballmer’s money that the Clippers say was used to pay for the very investigation that did them in.
Still, this warning that was issued the Clippers’ way back then in my 2019 report is quite prescient now:
“(Silver) sees salary cap circumvention as a cardinal sin in the NBA, and will always keep a watchful eye on that front. If any relevant evidence of improper benefits surfaces in the future, the league will re-open the investigation and pursue the charges yet again.”
No matter what the NBA ultimately found here, the widespread perception that the Clippers had cheated created immense pressure on Silver to come down with some sort of discipline as a way to keep the other 29 teams in check. That was a familiar refrain from rival executives and owners in the (many) months leading to the ruling, with many of them warning that a lack of punishment for the Clippers would send a strong sign across the Association that these player recruitment rules were made to be broken.
“It’ll be open season,” as one general manager — who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation — put it.
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As scare tactics go, it doesn’t get more terrifying than $30 million and five first-rounders going poof for the people who own and run these teams.
“(The NBA) had to (do this) for the integrity of the game,” that same general manager said after the ruling.
Yet the league not only came down hard here, but did so with the backing of the Wachtell report that makes it so hard to understand how the Clippers can continue to claim innocence.
Silver finished what the infamous Uncle Dennis had so recklessly started, really. And in the end, that was the call that mattered most.
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