Kawhi Leonard’s Family Member’s Illegal Demands From Jeanie Buss Resurface Amid Serious Allegations

Kawhi Leonard’s status as one of the NBA’s elite players has never been in question, but his career has often been overshadowed by criticism of load management and missed back-to-backs. While those debates have long followed him, the current scrutiny is of a different magnitude. Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers now face allegations of violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If confirmed, such a breach could carry serious consequences, testing both the franchise’s credibility and the league’s enforcement as the family gets involved in it.

When Leonard entered the 2019 free agency fresh off his one-year championship-winning stint with the Raptors, Klaw’s stocks were at an all-time high, with several teams, including the Lakers, Raptors, and Clippers, all fighting for his signature. While the Clippers ended up signing Kawhi on a three-year, $103 million deal, recently, some never-before-seen details from that summer have emerged, and they revolve around the famed uncle Dennis Robertson, who was helping negotiate the offers on the table. This includes everything, all the way from the Paul George trade request to details involving Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and Magic Johnson.

The issue? Kawhi Leonard just wanted to head home and wanted to suit up alongside his friend Paul George. However, that’s where things take an interesting turn. According to the Athletic’s Sam Amick, it was then that Leonard and his uncle reportedly made some insane demands to Lakers (with whom they were in talks alongside the Clippers) owner Jeanie Buss if the Purple & Gold wanted the forward’s signature:

“Sources say the league was told that Robertson asked team officials for part ownership of the team, a private plane that would be available at all times, a house, and — last but certainly not least — a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money that they could expect if Leonard played for their team. All of those items, to be clear, would fall well outside the confines of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.” Amick reported.

The Lakers boss, at the time, if the report is to be believed, has rejected the offer citing legality: “Robertson made those requests repeatedly to owner Jeanie Buss over the course of three phone calls that spanned several days, and that she made it clear that such perks were illegal and would not be considered.” However, this wasn’t all.

When Buss declined these demands, of course, given that they were against the NBA’s policies, Robertson seemingly questioned the Lakers’ governor about why they gave Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson a slice of the ownership (a totally different matter). But to keep things straight, as Buss did, Johnson acquired his portion of the stake in the organization without ifs and buts, and it had no legal hurdles in place.

Nonetheless, while the deal between the Lakers and Kawhi Leonard did not work out, this is quite a big revelation, to say the least, because it adds a new layer of controversy around the Klaw’s move to the L.A. Clippers back in 2019. In fact, this might also grab the attention of the league and force them to take strict actions against the 34-year-old. More so, because this is just a small part of the big fraud scandal Leonard is reported to be a part of.

Kawhi Leonard and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer are linked to a huge fraud scandal

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard’s name is not only being dragged into the violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the veteran forward might even be part of a bigger violation. According to a seven-month investigation by Pablo Torre, Leonard, who could’ve gotten a much more lucrative deal than the three-year $103 million deal that he inked with the Clippers, did so because the franchise’s owner allegedly offered him a “No-Show Job.”

What exactly does that mean? Well, as per Torre, Leonard, apart from his NBA deal, also landed a massive $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. For those of you who don’t know about Aspiration, it’s a company that has vowed to plant trees and supply carbon credits to offset the pollution and emissions of its clients.

While their endorsers include several big names, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Leonard, despite inking a deal, did not even once comment about it. While many of you might point out that it could be something he might not have gotten the chance to endorse, you’re in for a bigger surprise. Steve Ballmer has invested a whopping $50 million of his own money into the brand.

Not just that, there’s also reportedly a clause in Kawhi’s agreement that enables the company to terminate the contract if he leaves the Clippers. Nonetheless, for now, these are huge allegations, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver yet to look into the matter. However, one thing is for sure: if Kawhi Leonard and Steve Ballmer are found guilty, they could be facing some serious consequences. Stay tuned as EssentiallySports brings more on this story.