Remember when the NBA fined the Utah Jazz for their tanking strategy even though the Jazz didn't technically break any rules? It makes sense why the league was annoyed, but it felt like they freaked out over spilled milk. Well, that has only looked worse because they have put off doing the same to the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard for what they've done, which has looked even worse.
Leonard was recently traded back to the Toronto Raptors even while the investigation is ongoing. The NBA has tried to act like the Aspiration scandal never happened, and now they can't pretend anymore because the deal is on hold until that investigation is resolved once and for all.
Developing: The Los Angeles Clippers-Toronto Raptors trade centered on Kawhi Leonard will not be complete until the NBA investigation into the Clippers is over. Statement from the Clippers to ESPN:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 9, 2026
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For the past 10 months, our organization has fully cooperated with an NBA…
For anyone who doesn't know, Leonard and the Clippers were allegedly caught circumventing the cap not only to entice Leonard but to pay him more money than the contract they agreed to. This came to light last August, and the league still has yet to hand down any punishment. And, yes, this is MUCH WORSE than what the Jazz did back in February.
For the record, the league caught the Minnesota Timberwolves doing something similar with Joe Smith back in 2000 (to be fair, a lawsuit with his agency exposed what they were doing), and they punished them pretty swiftly. Within the same month he was exposed, the NBA voided his deal with Minnesota and took away multiple future first-round picks.
With Kawhi, the NBA has taken its sweet time to the point that this is still ongoing even with him not a Clipper anymore(?), months after this came to light. It's embarrassing that they've let this drag on for as long as it has, and yet they seemed so quick to punish Utah for what they saw as unethical.
A double standard is clearly emerging from this
Why has the NBA been so quick to punish the Jazz when it's only arguable that they bent the rules to help their tanking aspirations (no pun intended), while they've taken their sweet time to resolve what's happened with Leonard and the Clippers? Because Leonard is still one of the NBA's biggest names and Steve Ballmer is one of the league's most high-profile owners.
There could be a massive fallout from this. The fact that the deal is on hold until further notice may be further proof of this. It's easier to punish small-market teams for lesser offenses, while it's hard to punish the big-market teams for bigger offenses when they have one of the NBA's biggest names, even if Leonard isn't as big as he was when he first joined the Clippers.
This most recent development doesn't directly involve the Jazz in the slightest, but it is annoying that the league was so quick to get on their case, yet hasn't done the same with the Clippers. It may be apples and oranges, but this has been an unbelievably bad look that has only aged like milk, months after they freaked out over spilled milk in Utah.
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