Bombshell Clippers lawsuit involving Kawhi should infuriate the Spurs and Raptors

The 2024-25 NBA season has barely begun and things already look bleak for the Los Angeles Clippers. They are set to be without superstar Kawhi Leonard for weeks, and even if they were healthy, they probably would have struggled to make the playoffs this season.

That, along with the fact that they don't own their pick in the 2025 Draft, with the Oklahoma City Thunder owning swap rights, and its shaping up to be an ugly season for the Clippers. Things can get worse, however.

A bombshell lawsuit by a former conditioning coach claims that the team was recruiting Leonard while he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs and then after he was traded to the Toronto Raptors. If that is indeed true, then the Clippers would have tampered and could be subject to significant fines and penalties by the NBA.

The Clippers recruiting Kawhi to Los Angeles dramatically affected both franchises. The Spurs watched as their franchise player slowly distanced himself from the team before demanding a trade.

As a result, they made it to the playoffs just once in the six years since he was traded after making the Western Conference Finals in 2018 with him. Meanwhile, the Raptors won their first and only championship in his one season in Toronto before he signed with the Clippers in 2019.

This bombshell report should worry the Clippers and infuriate the Spurs and Raptors.

At the moment, it is just a claim made by a former Clippers trainer that has yet to be proven. Be that it may, claims like these may trigger an NBA investigation and that is probably something that Los Angeles doesn't want, for several reasons. The most obvious reason is that it is a distraction after they just opened their brand new Initut Dome Arena, which has received a lot of positive reviews.

There is also the fact that the team probably won't be very good and this would only add to their problems. The biggest potential fallout—aside from losing the lawsuit—would be if the claims are proven by the league.

A massive fine and possibly forfeiting draft picks would be the most likely outcome in that event. Of course, the Clippers are light on picks after the Paul George and James Harden trades but that might not prevent them from losing distant picks.

If true, and the Clippers did actively recruit Leonard while he was a member of the Spurs and Raptors, then that negatively impacted both of those teams. Ironically, landing Leonard hasn't worked out well for Los Angeles so they may already be paying the price.