Los Angeles Clippers Said ‘Yes’ To Kawhi Leonard’s Uncle’s Demands That Fell Outside Boundaries Of CBA In 2019
The Los Angeles Clippers said “yes” to Kawhi Leonard‘s uncle’s demands that fell outside the boundaries of the CBA in 2019, according to NBA reporter Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
Leonard left the Toronto Raptors for the Clippers in the summer of 2019. The NBA legend signed a three-year, $103.1 million deal that included a player option for the final season.
Leonard’s uncle is Dennis Robertson.
“Robertson, who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, wanted Leonard to be able to initially live in San Diego rather than in Los Angeles. (Leonard would commute via helicopter. He later moved to Los Angeles.) The Clippers agreed,” Holmes wrote. “He wanted Leonard to be able to skip some media obligations and team community events. The Clippers agreed. He wanted the team to promise to market Leonard individually. The Clippers agreed. He wanted Leonard to be able to bring some of his own people into the organization. The Clippers agreed. (A team source disputes the existence of some of these requests and the tone of some others.)
“Perhaps most importantly, Robertson said there would need to be a strict protocol about how to talk about Leonard publicly — and that was to say nothing unless absolutely necessary.”
The Clippers have never reached the NBA Finals in franchise history. Leonard and the Clippers had a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2020 playoffs. LAC blew the lead and lost the series in seven games.
A future Hall of Famer, Leonard tore his right ACL against the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. The Clippers beat the Jazz but lost to the Phoenix Suns in the conference finals without Leonard.
Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season due to his ACL injury. Without him, the Clippers missed the 2022 playoffs.
One of the top two-way players in the NBA, Leonard played in 52 games for the Clippers in the 2022-23 season. He suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the Suns and LAC lost the series.
Leonard appeared in 68 games for the Clippers in 2023-24 and made the All-NBA Second Team. However, his surgically repaired right knee troubled him in the first round of the 2024 playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks and he only played in Games 2 and 3.
A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard played in 37 games for the Clippers last season. LAC lost to Denver in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in seven games.
Leonard and the Clippers are currently in hot water. According to Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out, the now-bankrupt company Aspiration paid Leonard $48 million for a “no-show job” intended to circumvent the NBA salary cap. LAC owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration.
Ballmer introduced Aspiration to Leonard in November 2021, three months after the Clippers had agreed to a four-year, $173 million extension with Leonard. Two months earlier, in September 2021, the Clippers announced a lucrative $300 million partnership with Aspiration.
Latest NBA News & Rumors
- NBA News: Los Angeles Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer Maintains He Was ‘Personally Defrauded’ by Aspiration
- NBA Rumors: Jonathan Kuminga ‘Really Wants’ to Play for Sacramento Kings
- NBA News: Luka Dončić Speaks About Dallas Mavericks Trading Him to Los Angeles Lakers
- NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Count Their ‘Blessings’ All the Time Kawhi Leonard Didn’t Sign With Them
