The investigation into the Clippers regarding the Kawhi Leonard case reaches the United States Government

The scandal surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard has taken a new turn. A federal investigation has been opened to determine if the Californian franchise may have used mechanisms to evade the NBA salary cap and irregularly compensate its star, as reported on Thursday by The New York Times, citing informed sources on the matter.

The criminal investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn, and is still in a very early phase. According to the cited source, federal prosecutors have already issued at least one subpoena in their inquiries.

Neither the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, nor the Clippers nor the NBA had made any public comments about the investigation at the time of reporting.

A new problem for the Clippers

The federal investigation comes after the NBA itself completed an almost year-long investigation into the Clippers' operations related to Leonard. The work was conducted by the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and concluded that the organization had engaged in a "pattern of improper conduct" and multiple significant breaches of competition rules.

Additionally, investigators noted that the Clippers were repeat offenders regarding violations aimed at preventing salary cap evasion.

The NBA report specifically focused on a contract associated with the enormous video scoreboard installed in the Intuit Dome, the Clippers' venue. According to the findings of the investigation, the franchise allegedly funneled part of the proceeds from that agreement to Leonard through a sponsorship contract.

The problem did not end there. NBA investigators determined that the Clippers even established the terms of a multi-year agreement that would have brought millions of dollars to the player.

The NBA has already punished the Clippers severely

The federal investigation comes just days after the NBA announced one of the harshest penalties in its history against a franchise over a salary cap-related issue.

The Clippers were penalized with the loss of five first-round Draft picks, in addition to receiving a fine of 30 million dollars. Owner Steve Ballmer was also suspended for one year.

Leonard, for his part, will have to pay 700,000 dollars as a result of the findings of the NBA investigation.

Now, the case enters a completely different terrain. The federal investigation is not being led by the league but by U.S. judicial authorities, who will try to determine if the operations surrounding Leonard may constitute some form of criminal offense.

It's not the first government investigation

The federal investigation is also not the only open front related to the Clippers' operations and Leonard. On the same day, September 2, when the NBA announced its findings and penalties against the franchise and the player, an executive from Daktronics revealed during a conference call on quarterly results that the company had been contacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its operations with Leonard.

The executive confirmed that Daktronics was cooperating with the SEC investigation, although no further details were provided.

The video and scoreboard systems company is related to the contract for the massive scoreboard at the Intuit Dome mentioned in the report prepared by Wachtell Lipton. The NBA considered that the Clippers used that agreement to funnel a benefit to Leonard in the form of a sponsorship contract.

The Eastern District of New York has already investigated the NBA

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York also has a long history of investigations related to the NBA.

In 2007, working alongside the FBI, it carried out the case against former referee Tim Donaghy, who admitted to betting on games he officiated. Donaghy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to transmit information related to betting.

More recently, in 2025, this same office charged then-Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, then-Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, and former player and NBA assistant coach Damon Jones in two wide-ranging investigations related to illegal sports betting and purportedly mob-backed rigged poker games.

This year, the office also filed charges against former players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis for their alleged involvement in a sports betting scheme.

Now, the Clippers and Leonard are once again under the scrutiny of authorities. The investigation is in its early stages, so there are still no conclusions regarding potential criminal liability. However, the opening of a federal procedure adds a new dimension to what has already become one of the largest salary cap scandals in recent NBA history.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La investigación sobre los Clippers por el caso Kawhi Leonard llega al Gobierno de Estados Unidos