New internal emails suggest the LA Clippers were directly involved in scheduling Kawhi Leonard’s sponsorship activations with Daktronics. The correspondence adds scrutiny to allegations that the team used the deal to bypass NBA salary cap rules, an arrangement the franchise and owner Steve Ballmer deny.
Credit: AP/Scanpix nuotr.
Another development has emerged in the investigation surrounding Kawhi Leonard‘s undisclosed sponsorship agreement with Daktronics, potentially providing more insight into the Los Angeles Clippers‘ involvement in the arrangement.
Position
SF, SG
Age
35
Height
198 cm
Weight
102 kg
Birth place
Riverside, United States of America
According to internal emails obtained by Pablo Torre, the Clippers repeatedly contacted Daktronics in 2021 about scheduling sponsorship “activations” involving “KL,” an apparent reference to Leonard. In one exchange, a Daktronics executive responded to a reminder from the team by writing, “Thanks for the reminder! Go Clippers!”
The emails are notable because previous reporting had raised questions over how involved the Clippers were in Leonard’s multimillion-dollar agreement with Daktronics, the company that constructed the massive Halo Board inside Intuit Dome.
Allegedly, the arrangement was designed to funnel money from the Clippers through Daktronics to Leonard in an effort to circumvent the NBA salary cap. Those allegations have not been proven.
Clippers’ involvement comes under further scrutiny
The newly revealed correspondence does not by itself establish that the Clippers arranged Leonard’s compensation or violated salary-cap rules.
However, it indicates that members of the organization were communicating directly with Daktronics about Leonard-related sponsorship activity, adding another element for investigators to examine.
The Daktronics agreement emerged while the NBA was already investigating a separate $28 million endorsement deal between Leonard and former Clippers sponsor Aspiration. The Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer have denied wrongdoing in connection with the broader salary-cap investigation.
Leonard’s situation has also affected his basketball future, with the Toronto Raptors previously putting their planned trade for the two-time Finals MVP on hold while awaiting the outcome of the NBA investigation.
The latest emails now add another layer to the central question facing the league: how much the Clippers knew about, or participated in, the outside sponsorship arrangements involving their franchise star.
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