If Kawhi Leonard earned $28M for a no-show job with a former team sponsor, 29 other teams have a valid reason to be upset with the Los Angeles Clippers for allegedly circumventing the salary cap.
Leonard’s peers, though, may not necessarily be mad at the two-time Defensive Player of the Year for his alleged side hustle.
On ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters” podcast, former NBA player Richard Jefferson said that most of his peers would have gladly accepted an under-the-table deal — if they were in a similar position.
NBA players not mad at Kawhi Leonard?
Jefferson made the comments while citing the fact that no active or former player has criticized Leonard over his alleged shady deals.
“You can go to the players and say, ‘What are your thoughts?'” Jefferson said. “Collectively? None of us can care that someone else got another $28 million. I’m mad that it wasn’t me. We ain’t heard no players complaining. [If] we thought this was an unfair advantage, then [why have] players shown zero outrage?”
Channing Frye took it a step further by noting that the Clippers did not benefit from the alleged side deal, as they’ve never advanced past the Western Conference Finals since Leonard arrived in 2020.
“If you cheat and win, yes, you should be punished,” he said. “…Do I really care about a billionaire [Steve Ballmer] sneakily giving Kawhi 28 million? Not really.”
While citing conversations with players around the league, Frye said that “no one cares” about Leonard allegedly making money on the side.
The NBA is a brotherhood
Meanwhile, Quentin Richardson stressed that players around the NBA root for each other to make bread, going as far as to suggest that Leonard deserves credit for adding extra zeroes to his bank balance.
“If you got a 28 extra, I’m cheering for my homeboy,” Richardson said. “I’m happy for him.”
Jefferson echoed the same sentiments.
“We root for these things. We get excited,” he said of Leonard allegedly making $28M more than his stipulated NBA salary.
During his Media Day news conference, Leonard shockingly revealed that Aspiration still owes him more than $7M, while denying any wrongdoing. The NBA is reportedly nearing the end of its investigation into the Clippers for allegedly circumventing the salary cap in 2021.
