Following the NBA’s landmark ruling that imposed severe penalties on the LA Clippers and superstar Kawhi Leonard for salary cap circumvention, Stephen A. Smith didn’t spare anyone. But he tore into Leonard’s inner circle. Specifically targeting Leonard’s business manager and uncle, Dennis Robertson, Smith argued that the league office’s five-year ban was far too lenient. Reacting to the fallout of the independent investigation, Smith argued that Robertson’s history of pushing boundaries warrants a permanent expulsion from professional basketball.

“Listen, Kawhi Leonard should give master classes on how to get paid for not working. This brother has missed more action than a little bit, and it’s got his [Robertson’s] fingerprints written all over it,” Smith declared during his commentary.

Turning his attention directly to Robertson, Smith added, “Now, I know his uncle, Dennis Robertson, has been banned. It should be for life. It should be for life, because this man, as Jeanie Buss has intimated in the past with the Los Angeles Lakers, as numerous people have intimated having done business with him, he doesn’t mind cutting corners and circumventing whatever rules or regulations. Clearly, not just to pad Kawhi Leonard’s pockets, but his own.”

Most fans assume that Leonard would retire by the time Robertson’s five-year exile is up, effectively becoming a lifetime ban in their eyes, and he’d not enjoy the perks of Kawhi now returning to Toronto.

But Smith was furious that the dynamic with Leonard allowed Robertson to operate within NBA circles for years before facing consequences.

“And you could fire him all you want to just this last June…. You had them all of these years while you could have collected all of these benefits, having a pretty damn good idea that there was some illegal activity going on. And now look what has happened,” Smith noted.

Smith was especially furious that Robertson lived lavishly despite one prominent NBA governor sounding the alarm.

“I ain’t going to get into how his uncle, Robertson, asked for, you know, helicopter rides and, you know, everything under every perk that you could think of. The man probably asked for his own personal foot rub on a nightly basis. I mean, that’s how bad this dude was. Every perk that you could peel out of it—legal or illegal, circumventing salary cap restrictions and all that stuff—this didn’t stop him from asking. Jeanie Buss told us that. That is what Robertson did.”

Smith’s vocal outrage directly references a long history of controversial requests surrounding Leonard’s camp. Back during the blockbuster 2019 free agency period, the Lakers were heavily favored to land the reigning Finals MVP.

At that time, Robertson reportedly submitted an exorbitant list of requirements to Lakers governor Jeanie Buss in exchange for Leonard’s commitment.

Reports from The Athletic and Legion Hoops revealed that Robertson sought prohibited incentives, including a partial ownership share, guaranteed endorsement money, private plane access, and a house.

He reportedly demanded that Kawhi be allowed to live in San Diego and commute to LA by helicopter on team expense.

Buss immediately rejected these demands, warning Robertson that such perks explicitly violated the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Similar requests were reportedly made to the Toronto Raptors before Leonard ultimately signed with the Clippers.

At the peak of the Lakers-Clippers rivalry, LakeShow was mad they didn’t get a LeBron-AD-Kawhi superteam. But since Pablo Torre’s revelations, fans are glad Jeanie had the foresight and principles to turn away David Robertson.

Commissioner Adam Silver’s initial 2019 probe found no actionable evidence of improper benefits at the time. However, those earlier trade talks resurfaced with renewed relevance as recent investigations into companies such as Aspiration and Daktronics culminated in heavy sanctions against the Clippers, Steve Ballmer, and Robertson.

Reflecting on these past reports, Smith brought up the sheer scale of the perks Robertson allegedly sought behind closed doors and feels that Kawhi Leonard and his uncle have gotten away with a slap on the wrist.

“You damn right he deserves to be banned for life to sit up there and circle for these truths. They said he’s banned. I don’t know how long. It should be for life. Doing business with the NBA, he should be banned for life.”