The Athletic\u2019s Pablo Torre opened one of the deepest cans of worms in recent sports memory with his expos\u00e9 of Los Angeles Clippers\u2019 star Kawhi Leonard\u2019s alleged under-the-table no-show job with Aspiration, an environmental company that received significant financial investment from team owner Steve Ballmer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The initial reporting, subsequent denial by the Clippers, and then further corroboration by Torre have made the organization look far from innocent during the saga. Leonard attempted to clear the air<\/a> at Clippers Media Day last week, essentially insinuating that he had performed services for the company and that they hadn\u2019t paid him in full.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t do conspiracies, theories or anything like that,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cSo, it’s about the season and what we got ahead of us right now \u2026 the NBA is going to do their job. None of us did any wrongdoing.I mean, that’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless, the overwhelming sentiment from fans has been largely critical of the Clippers. Executives around the league also took exception, with some reportedly signaling to the league that their franchises would also seek to circumvent the salary cap by investing in companies to pay their players no-show endorsement deals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to former NBA champion Richard Jefferson, players around the league aren\u2019t too miffed by the fact that Leonard received an extra $28 million for an alleged no-show endorsement deal. Conventional wisdom suggests that those players now see their own opportunity to collect a paycheck, or some may even have similar arrangements themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can go to the players and say, \u2019What are your thoughts?\u2019, Jefferson said, \u201cCollectively? 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. We thought this is an unfair advantage, and with the league, players have shown zero outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n Richard Jefferson reveals that players from across the NBA do not care if Kawhi Leonard did get paid an additional $28M under the table: <\/p>\n \u201cCollectively, none of us care if someone got an extra $28M. I\u2019m mad that it wasn\u2019t me! \u2026 Players have shown zero outrage.\u201d <\/p>\n (h\/t:\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/wlXvGJK5ZQ<\/a><\/p>\n