The NBA essentially maxed out the penalties on the Clippers that the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows the league to impose on teams and executives as a result of salary cap circumvention.

However, as hard as the NBA came down on the team, Kawhi Leonard was only required to pay $700K to the league despite finding that he and business manager Dennis Robertson violated circumvention rules by “pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities.” Leonard also failed to reimburse the Clippers for personal expenses, presumably totaling $700K, since his endorsement deals were worth $60MM+.

Was Leonard’s punishment too light? Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports argues the answer to that question is yes, given the findings of the investigation.

“I think it could have been worse,” an anonymous NBA player told Yahoo Sports. “Seven hundred-thousand dollars probably ain’t nothing to [Leonard], so he can just pay it and get back to playing. He didn’t get suspended or anything. Be careful. Watch what you got going on.”

Here are a few more notes regarding the investigation:

• According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Leonard was shown some “early findings” of the investigation in June, when he decided to fire Robertson. That decision appears to have helped Leonard avoid a harsher punishment. Robertson, who pushed for the “income opportunities” on Leonard’s behalf, was essentially banned from having anything to do with the league for five years.
• Assuming Leonard is traded to the Raptors as expected, Toronto appears to be another “winner,” since Leonard wasn’t suspended and didn’t have his contract voided. Still, completing the trade with the Clippers carries a good deal of risk for the Raptors, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, given that Toronto is trading away two unprotected first-round picks and a swap for a 35-year-old who has a very long injury history. Leonard is expected to sign a lucrative extension at some point after the deal goes through.
• Zach Kram of ESPN examines what the Timberwolves’ cap-circumvention case involving Joe Smith in 2000 might tell us about the Clippers’ future.
• Tom Haberstroh of Yahoo Sports explains why he thinks owner Steve Ballmer being suspended from all league and team activities for one year was the most “punitive” of the NBA’s sanctions and why he believes Ballmer could be barred from the NBA for life if tries to circumvent the salary cap a third time.