Stephen Curry has weighed in on the fallout from the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard scandal, and the Warriors superstar wasn’t shocked by the NBA’s decision to come down hard on the franchise.
The Clippers were stripped of five first-round draft picks and fined $30 million after the league concluded its investigation into salary cap circumvention involving Leonard and potential endorsement deals.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was also suspended from all league and team activities for one year, while Leonard received a $700,000 fine.
Asked about the punishment and whether the severity of the NBA’s ruling surprised him, Curry said the lengthy investigation gave him confidence that commissioner Adam Silver had reached the appropriate decision, according to ClutchPoints.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Curry said. “I think the reason the investigation took as long as it did, and Steve Ballmer, I’ve gotten to know, he’s a great guy, who’s standing by the punishment, so there’s a reason that’s all happened the way that it has, and at the end of the day, Adam Silver had a job to do, and I think the punishment makes sense.”
Ballmer has accepted the NBA’s ruling despite disagreeing with aspects of the league’s findings, while Leonard has denied intentionally violating league rules.
The investigation ultimately brought an end to an already disappointing Clippers era.
Leonard has since been traded back to the Toronto Raptors, ending a seven-year run in Los Angeles that never produced the championship the franchise envisioned when it landed him in 2019.
His arrival also triggered one of the most consequential trades in recent NBA history. At Leonard’s request, Los Angeles acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a blockbuster deal that sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a massive collection of draft capital in the opposite direction.
The Clippers now enter their next chapter without Leonard and with Ballmer sidelined for the season, while also facing the long-term consequences of losing five future first-round selections.
And judging by Curry’s reaction, the scale of the punishment wasn’t unexpected.
For the four-time NBA champion, the league took its time investigating the situation before making its call, and ultimately, “the punishment makes sense.”
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