Severe penalty for the Clippers? Reports suggest the league might declare Kawhi Leonard's current contract void, with Lakers and Warriors set to aggressively pursue him.

On February 24th Beijing time, NBA reporter Tom Haberstroh reported that because of the previously involved shady contract matter, the NBA could declare Leonard’s deal with the Clippers null and void. Once Leonard becomes a free agent, it is anticipated that the Lakers, Warriors, Knicks, and others will aggressively chase him. Haberstroh’s report on the program is as follows—

Just how severe will the NBA’s penalty on the Clippers be?

Forcing a team sale would be an extremely drastic measure for Adam Silver. I don’t think that will happen because Steve Ballmer is one of the wealthiest owners in sports and among the richest in the U.S. He just hosted the All-Star Game and is also an ally of Adam Silver within the league. If the league truly forced him to sell the team, I would be very surprised.

Remember, when Robert Sarver of the Suns was involved, the league did not force a sale. At that time, investigations uncovered numerous workplace violations and harassment issues. Yet the league never directly ordered “you must sell the team.” It was his own decision to sell.

So the likely scenario now is that Adam Silver will impose some form of punishment, such as declaring Leonard’s contract void. I think this is one of the options because decades ago, David Stern handled Joe Smith’s salary cap circumvention scandal with the Timberwolves in a similar way.

Interestingly, this creates a dilemma: if Leonard immediately becomes a free agent, teams like the Lakers, Warriors, and Knicks will undoubtedly go all out to sign him. At this moment, they will be fully committed to pursuing Leonard.

In fact, the uproar and chaos this causes in the league could be even greater than directly punishing the Clippers. So I believe penalties like forfeiting draft picks, voiding Leonard’s contract, and banning Ballmer from arenas are all possible.

Among these, barring Ballmer from attending games could be the most painful and impactful punishment for him personally.