That’s not a suspension, i literally said that his contract would get voided

Also that would literally benefit Kawhi, he’d get to go wherever he wants and most likely still get maxed on a longer deal

They couldn’t have signed him to a contract that would have put them over that tax line, both because he signed for the max and because even if he didn’t, they couldn’t sign him into the cap as he was a UFA without bird rights.

Even if those things weren’t true and they signed Kawhi for less than the max and to stay under a tax line, they couldn’t prove that the team would stay above the tax line had he been signed for more.

This would be a complete dead end.

Underrated point. Some of this stuff, if true as alleged, is clearly flirting with wire fraud

Taylor was still banned for a year. McHale was also banned for a year.

Stern took away 5 FRP, arbitration gave 2 back

CBA now limits penalties for cap evasion for team and player There’s always bringing disrepute to the league clause

Max Team Fine: Increased up to $7.5 million.

Draft Forfeiture: Forfeiture of multiple “draft picks” (the language intentionally omits the singular “one” and does not limit it to just first-rounders, granting massive flexibility to strip capital)

.Personnel Suspensions: A maximum suspension of up to one year for any involved team personnel (owners, GMs, executives).

Player Fines: A fine for the player of up to $350,000

.Contract Ban: A total prohibition of any future contract between that specific player and team.

Disgorgement of Benefits: The player can be legally forced to give up any money or assets received via the third-party deal, unless they can prove they were entirely unaware of the scheme.

Because Balmer is rich enough he’ll ask for a fine instead of loss of picks, then pay the fine.

A union preventing a guilty man from getting just punishment isn’t the selling point you’re thinking it is.

That’s not really a punishment since he’s literally being traded

If anything Kawhi wins even in this case, he’d get a longer max contract

Uh, I don’t think that’s right. The contracts aren’t illegal, they are just against the rules of the CBA.

Suspension is not on the table at all. They can cancel his contract, and make him pay back the illicit money from Aspiration and Daktronics, but they can’t suspend him

David Stern literally had the Joe Smith case to handle, which was worse in terms of direct competitive advantage, and did not hire an “underworld hitman.” Owner and GM got a 1 year ban, 3 picks ended up getting taken, and Joe Smith signed with Detroit.

Prohkorov was a literal James Bond villain.

The Raptors reported Kawhi to the league in 2019 because he was asking for the type of shit that Balmer seemingly gave him. Kinda goes against the idea that this was normal. For sure shady shit is always going on but the scale and context is completely different.

Also I don’t think people trading with the Clippers really says anything about anything. The Raptors want Kawhi because Kawhi is a good player, it would be malpractice as a franchise to not acquire him just out of spite. They put the trade on hold because they have no idea what the league is gonna do about this which again goes against the idea that this is all normal shit

He’d pick the Lakers lol

Withholding services has its own provisions in the CBA and afaik suspension is also not one of them. And even if it was, it would not be a full year suspension.

Source for that? Sitting out games healthy for that is crazy behaviour

I haven’t seen that. Would make things more interesting. I honestly think other players should study Kawhi. Until he got caught, he appears to have been running game.

Burning at the stake, drawing and quartering, and bees. It’s surprising how much the nba CBA is based on 10th century saxon legal frameworks 

Excuse the terrible formatting:

(a) Upon a finding of a violation of Section 1 above by the System
Arbitrator, but only following the conclusion of any appeal to the Appeals
Panel, the Commissioner shall be authorized to:
(i) impose a fine of up to \(4,500,000 (fifty percent (50%) of which shall be payable to the NBA, and fifty percent (50%) of which shall be payable to the NBPA-Selected Charitable Organization (as defined in Article VI, Section 6(a))) on any342 Article XIII Team found to have committed such violation for the first time; (ii) impose a fine of up to \)5,500,000 (fifty percent (50%) of
which shall be payable to the NBA, and fifty percent (50%)
of which shall be payable to the NBPA-Selected Charitable
Organization) on any Team found to have committed such
violation for at least the second time;
(iii) direct the forfeiture of one First Round Draft Pick;
(iv) void any Player Contract, or any Renegotiation, Extension,
or amendment of a Player Contract, between any player and
any Team when both the player (or any person or entity
acting with authority on behalf of such player) and the Team
(or Team Affiliate) are found to have committed such
violation; and/or
(v) void any other transaction or agreement found to have
violated Section 1 above.
(b) Upon a finding of a violation of Section 2 above by the System
Arbitrator, but only following the conclusion of any appeal to the Appeals
Panel, the Commissioner shall be authorized to:
(i) impose a fine of up to \(7,500,000 on any Team found to have committed such violation (fifty percent (50%) of which shall be payable to the NBA, and fifty percent (50%) of which shall be payable to the NBPA-Selected Charitable Organization); (ii) direct the forfeiture of draft picks; (iii) when both the player (or any person or entity acting with authority on behalf of such player) and the Team (or Team Affiliate) are found to have committed such violation, (A) void any Player Contract, or any Renegotiation, Extension, or amendment of a Player Contract, between such player and such Team, (B) impose a fine of up to \)350,000, on any player (fifty percent (50%) of which shall
be payable to the NBA, and fifty percent (50%) of whichArticle XIII 343
shall be payable to the NBPA-Selected Charitable
Organization), and/or © prohibit any future Player
Contract, or any Renegotiation, Extension, or amendment
of a Player Contract, between such player and such Team;
(iv) suspend for up to one (1) year any Team personnel found to
have willfully engaged in such violation; and/or
(v) void any transaction or agreement found to have violated
Section 2 above and direct the disgorgement by the player of
anything of value received in connection with such
transaction or agreement (except Compensation received for
services already performed pursuant to a Player Contract),
unless the player establishes by a preponderance of the
evidence that he was unaware of the violation.

My expectation:

1. Lawrence Frank and Uncle Dennis lifetime ban from NBA business
2. Ballmer suspended for not more than 1 year
3. Maximum fine
4. Clippers draft assets get absolutely fucked for the next decade.
5. Kawhi’s contract is voided and he becomes a free agent.

Page 339-344

https://imgix.cosmicjs.com/25da5eb0-15eb-11ee-b5b3-fbd321202bdf-Final-2023-NBA-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement-6-28-23.pdf

For section 1, general salary cap circumvention stuff.

Fine of \(4,500,000 for the first time, \)5,500,000 each time after.

Forfeit one first round pick.

Void any player contract, renegotiation, extension, or amendment of a contract when both the player and team are found to committed the violation.

Void any other transaction or agreement found to be in violation.

Section 2, no unauthorized agreements.

$7,500,00 fine for a team committing a violation.

Forfeiture of draft picks (the language does not seem to limit the number of picks or from which round, interesting)

When both a player and team violate this the players contract, extension, renegotiation, and amendments can be voided, fine the player up to $350,000, and/or prohibit future contracts, renegotiations, extensions, amendments between the team and player

Suspend team personnel who willfully engaged in the violation for up to one year

void any transaction or agreement found to be in violation and direct the disgorgement by the player of anything of value received in connection with such transaction or agreement (except Compensation received for services already performed pursuant to a Player Contract), unless the player establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that he was unaware of the violation

Edit: these are the options, the league doesn’t have to do them all or have to do any at all. It’s up to them.

The same article in the CBA does say they can go after him to repay that.

Actively seeking out and accepting an agreement that is against the rules makes you an idiot. Sometimes you just get lucky and don’t get caught or punished, but he secured the bag in such a way that he left a potential door open for the money to get messed up, and that’s stupid.

It’s stupid to go so far out of your way to make all these shell companies and everything else when you have already garnered generational wealth for your family. It would have literally been less of a hassle for him to just legitimately take the discount, or to just stand your business and say that you want the max up front it’s not like he’s some scrub he was always going to get paid.

Adam Silver: I don’t see anything here.

no the story line of hes a pathetic moron who cant even pickup a crayon is better

Dude…it’s already Been happening lmao. The clippers just sloppy as fuck for how they did. But this is literally nba culture

I mean why are we just making up hypotheticals and ignoring the CBA?

But if you want to compare it to “real world” only Kawhi would be getting punished because that’s how it really works. Just ask any immigrant rounded up by ICE. you think the employers of those immigrants got in trouble?

Or the many many other real worlds examples of laws no longer applying in America lol.

yes? lol unless you evaded taxes, then at worst salary should just get voided.

That would be tax dodging. I don’t think that’s alleged here

Not the only one but the employer should be getting punished worse because they’re the ones offering it and allowing the situation to be created and continue. Just because one punishment should be “worse” doesn’t mean Kawhi’s would have to like be a slap on the wrist lol

Not really the same at all is it? It’s not like Kawhi failed to pay taxes on his income. 

“But he forced our hand to break the rules!”

A player can ask for whatever you think you’re worth, but a team can choose not to agree to the terms that are obviously non-complaint. No other team was willing to circumvent cap rules except for the Clippers.

Breaking the law and breaking nba rules are very very very different.

Well, the employee shouldn’t get in legal trouble if there was somehow no law on the books that says they could actually get in trouble for tax evasion. Loopholes can be unethical, but if they’re not specifically made illegal, then they’re not illegal.

Obviously there should be a rule against players taking laundered money to help their team avoid the cap, but if there was no rule in place at the time this scheme was was put together, then yes, he should get away with it.

If it’s true that there’s no rule to punish Leonard, then creating such a rule should become a huge priority for the league and players union.

The prez is doing that lmao.

Like Kawhi didn’t know, come on now.

“Oh no, how did all these extra millions end up in my bank account?”

In other labor contexts, you’d have a hard time applying a general clause like that where there’s clear, specific language on the matter.

It’s funny, because in 2021 there was what should have been a bombshell report about the Nets’ doing cap circumvention for KD and Kyrie–and it went absolutely nowhere, just disappeared like a fart in the wind.

It’s wild that people think the investigation has taken this long for any other reason than to isolate and quarantine the fallout from spreading. Kawhi and Ballmer just came up with all this without precedent.

People think folks are to quick to come up with conspiracy theories, but my experience is the opposite. They’ll deny obvious widespread corruption, which is why it’s so common.

Alternatively, they know that this is a bidding war that they can’t win.

TIL disgorge is a word