Things are getting complicated for the Clippers: federal investigation underway

The scandal involving the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard still seems very far from having written its final chapter after learning of the sanctions that the NBA imposed on both the franchise and all those involved for paying the player through phantom advertising agreements in order to evade the league’s salary regulations.

Apparently, as The New York Times reported this Thursday, the US Department of Justice, specifically the prosecutor’s office of the Eastern District of New York, which precisely has extensive experience in sports corruption cases – such as the cases of Tim Donaghy, Terry Rozier, Malik Beasley or Chauncey Billups, to give examples -, has initiated an investigation into the financial agreements between the Clippers and Kawhi, which served to pay extra amounts to the 35-year-old forward through contracts of unregistered sponsorship.

While the federal investigation is now underway and a subpoena has already been issued justifying the investigation, details about who or what specifically is being investigated are yet to be clarified. However, this investigation will be independent of the recent sentence of the NBA, which severely sanctioned Steve Ballmer with a fine of 30 million dollars and a ‘punishment’ for one season; to the Clippers without first rounds of the Draft from 2029 to 2033, as well as sanctions to managers Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker, a financial fine of $700,000 to Kawhi Leonard and a total veto to Dennis Robertson, the player’s uncle and then representative, for his participation in the plot and other demands considered ‘illegal’.

Regarding the sanction, Steve Ballmer does not give up and the Clippers strongly rejected the sanction imposed by the NBA, even considering going to court to end up obtaining an immediate restraining order to stop the sanctions.

On the other hand, it remains to be seen the date on which the Clippers will be able to complete the transfer of Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors, completed at the beginning of June and two months before the league’s irrevocable sanction to the Angelenos was announced. That exchange that took Kawhi back to Canada also included players like Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, but for now the move remains incomplete pending the next steps of the investigation.