Yet another branch of the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention saga emerged Thursday.
Leonard had a multi-million hidden sponsorship deal with Daktronics, the company which made the Los Angeles Clippers’ halo scoreboard at Intuit Dome, Pablo Torre reported.
It’s the third questionable arrangement that has come to light over the past year, beginning with Leonard’s alleged no-show deal with environmental bank Aspiration, which sparked an NBA investigation that remains ongoing into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap to sign the two-time Finals MVP.
In July, Torre reported that Leonard was a minority owner with the United Soccer League’s Rhode Island FC, a pro soccer club, though its ties to the Clippers are tangential at best.
A PR spokesperson for Daktronics replied to Torre co-investigator Sam Koppelman’s questioning about a Leonard deal.
“My understanding is Daktronics doesn’t have a deal with Kawhi right now,” the spokesperson said. “I don’t know what the company wants to say, or can say, given the Wachtell investigation and all that.”
Wachtell Lipton is the law firm hired by the NBA to look into the Leonard case.
The Clippers strongly denied that any rules were broken and said they welcomed the league’s investigation.
Earlier this off-season, the Clippers agreed to send Leonard back to the Toronto Raptors in a trade for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and draft picks. However, the teams have since put the deal on pause as Wachtell Lipton completes its investigation surrounding potential cap circumvention.
It remains unclear when the probe, which has been ongoing for about 11 months, will wrap up.
In July, The Athletic reported that the NBA was looking into a second sponsorship deal in addition to Aspiration.
