NBA-ийн од тоглогч Кавай Леонард болон Клипперсийн талбайн тоног төхөөрөмж нийлүүлэгч Дактроникс компанийн хоорондох үл мэдэгдэх гэрээний асуудлыг лиг шалгаж байна.
Пабло Торрегийн подкастад мэдээлснээр, Лос Анжелес Клипперсийн од Кавай Леонард тус багтай хамтран ажилладаг Дактроникс компанитай олон сая долларын ивээн тэтгэгчийн гэрээ байгуулжээ. Дактроникс нь Клипперсийн Интуйт Доум цэнгэлдэхэд 100 сая долларын үнэ бүхий видео дэлгэц суурилуулсан үйлдвэрлэгч юм. Гэсэн хэдий ч Леонард тус компанид ямар нэгэн ажил гүйцэтгэсэн нотлох баримт одоогоор олдоогүй байна.
Энэхүү үйл явдал нь Леонардын өмнө нь байгуулж байсан Аспирэйшн компанийн 28 сая долларын гэрээтэй төстэй нөхцөл байдлыг үүсгээд байгаа юм. Тухайн үед Клипперсийн эзэн Стив Балмер Аспирэйшн компанид 60 сая долларын хөрөнгө оруулалт хийсэн нь NBA-ийн цалингийн цэазийг тойрч гарах гэсэн оролдлого хэмээн хардлага төрүүлж, лигийн мөрдөн шалгах ажиллагааг эхлүүлж байв. Одоогийн байдлаар Вачтелл Липтон Розен & Катз хуулийн фирм Аспирэйшн болон Дактроникс компаниудтай холбоотой гэрээг шалгаж байна.
Хэрэв NBA цалингийн цэаз зөрчсөн гэж үзвэл Клипперс багт торгууль ногдуулж, драфтын нэгдүгээр тойргийн эрхүүдийг нь хасах, мөн Леонардын гэрээг хүчингүй болгох эрсдэлтэй. Энэхүү мөрдөн шалгах ажиллагаа үргэлжилж байгаатай холбогдуулан Клипперсийн Торонто Рэпторс руу хийхээр төлөвлөсөн Леонардын солилцоо түр хугацаагаар зогсоод байна. NBA-ийн комиссар Адам Силвер цалингийн цэазийг тойрч гарах оролдлогыг “том нүгэл” хэмээн тодорхойлж, ирэх улирал эхлэхээс өмнө энэ асуудлыг шийдвэрлэх хүсэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had a second lucrative undisclosed sponsorship agreement with a company doing business with the team, Pablo Torre reported Thursday night on his podcast.
Scoreboard manufacturer Daktronics, which built the $100 million video board at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome, hired Leonard to a multi-million dollar endorsement deal, according to Torre. The podcast host found no evidence that the All-NBA forward did any work for the company.
Advertisement
The details are similar to the $28 million endorsement deal Leonard had with Aspiration, a now-defunct environmental banking company that had a 23-year, $300 million sponsorship deal with Clippers. Steve Ballmer, the team’s owner, invested $60 million into Aspiration, triggering allegations that the payment to Leonard circumvented the NBA salary cap.
That deal is at the center off an ongoing, almost year-long NBA investigation. Requests on Friday for comment from Leonard’s agent and the Clippers were not immediately answered.
The salary cap limits what teams can spend on player payroll to ensure parity and prevent the wealthiest teams from outspending smaller-market teams to acquire the best players. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has called attempts to circumvent it a “cardinal sin.”
The topic was raised on Torre’s podcast by a person identified as an “anonymous high-level source under contract for Intuit Dome.” The person alleged in an interview that the sponsorship deal was “1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi.”
Advertisement
The investigation into the Aspiration allegations has grown in scope, the Athletic reported three weeks ago. In addition to attempting to determine whether Aspiration’s payment to Leonard violated NBA salary-cap rules, the probe conducted by high-powered New York law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz is examining Leonard’s deal with Daktronics.
If the NBA determines that a salary-cap violation occurred, the Clippers could be fined and stripped of first-round picks. Ballmer also could be penalized and Leonard’s contract could be voided. He has one year and $50.3 million left on a three-year, $149.5 million deal he signed before the 2024-25 season.
The endorsement deal with Daktronics raised suspicion because the company doesn’t do business with the general public and doesn’t need prominent athletes or celebrities to pitch its products.
Advertisement
“Daktronics was conservative to a fault for the 20+ years I was there,” a former employee told Torre. “I remember asking early on why we didn’t do more traditional advertising and promotion to increase brand recognition. I was told that since it’s B2B and not a consumer product, it didn’t make sense to advertise that way.”
Asked whether Leonard had an endorsement deal, Daktronics pointed Torre to a crisis management firm whose spokesman said, “My understanding is Daktronics doesn’t have a deal with Kawhi right now.” Asked for clarification, the spokesman said, “I don’t know what the company wants to say, or can say, given the Wachtell investigation and all that.”
Daktronics is a leader in designing, engineering and manufacturing digital LED display technology and audio systems. Nearly 600 clients are listed on the company website, including numerous NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL teams. Other clients include several airports, and Daktronics built the LAX Time Tower, a 72-foot, four-sided interactive digital media structure located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Read more: What we know about the NBA investigation into Steve Ballmer’s Clippers
Advertisement
The Clippers traded Leonard to the Toronto Raptors on June 30 for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a slew of draft picks, but the teams put deal was put on hold pending the outcome of the investigation.
Leonard would not talk about the allegations during the 2025-26 NBA season because the investigation was ongoing. He brushed it off during media day in September.
“None of us did … wrongdoing and, yeah, that’s it,” he said. “We invite the investigation.”
Almost a year later, the investigation continues. Silver has expressed a desire for a resolution, saying in June that it “needs to be wrapped up before next season.” The NBA regular season will begin in October.
Advertisement
Salary-cap circumvention first surfaced with Leonard during his free agency in 2019 after he led the Raptors to the NBA championship. Negotiations with the Lakers ceased when Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, requested a house, the use of private aircraft, guaranteed off-court earnings and an ownership stake in the team, according to Dan Woike of the Athletic. The Lakers informed Leonard’s representatives that those requests violated the NBA collective bargaining agreement and Leonard eventually signed with the Clippers, where he played the last seven seasons.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
