The Los Angeles Clippers are currently under fire for allegedly circumventing salary cap rules by offering Kawhi Leonard a no-show $28 million endorsement deal as an add-on to his Clippers contract.
Team owner Steve Ballmer and the Clippers have issued a denial. However, the NBA has begun investigating the matter and the accused could be facing a hefty penalty if found guilty.
But while many are surprised at what Kawhi and the Clippers supposedly did, Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway said that NBA teams circumventing the salary cap to sign top players isn't new in the league and, in fact, has been going on at least since the 80s and 90s, when Tim Sr. was in the NBA.
It's just that most were not caught.
"Pat Riley tried to pay two people $20 million," said Hardaway. "Over $20 million a year. They were like, 'How the hell are you doing that? And you got these other guys, you're going to pay. You can't do that!' If we find out that you told this guy this and told this guy that, then you're gonna be suspended, we're gonna take this away, fine the team and a lot of other stuff in '96. He had to take the contract away. He had to make sure that he didn't get fined or that the team didn't get fined. They were talking about suspending him for the whole year. Not, not like 50 games. They were like, suspend you for the whole year."
Hardaway talks about the Juwan Howard issue in Miami in 1996.
Back then, Howard was a free agent and Riley signed him to a seven-year $101 million deal. However, the NBA flagged the Heat for exceeding that year's salary cap because they failed to factor in Alonzo Mourning's new deal worth $112 million, also for seven years, plus the provision for performance bonuses of P.J. Brown and well, Hardaway.
So first, it wasn't two players for $20 million and second, it wasn't Riley who rescinded the contract but the NBA, which threatened to fine Riley and the Heat if they did not. Riley insisted they did nothing wrong but ultimately gave in to the NBA's desire after it threatened action against him and his organization.
"There was not one mistake made by us when it came to the salary cap. We did not forget how to add. We never broke the rules. We played within the rules of the collective bargaining agreement. The only people who broke the rules were the NBA, because they changed the rules as they went along. That's a fact," Riley said in a conference call with reporters at the time.
That situation, though, was entirely different from Kawhi's.
One, Riley and the Heat declared their full offer to Howard black-and-white and in public, but tried to get away with it. Meanwhile, the Clippers signed Kawhi to the maximum amount allowed, then purportedly did an under-the-table deal in the guise of an endorsement contract.
Either way, it's still a circumvention of salary cap rules.
"You try to get away with what you try to get away with. And let's see where the dominoes may fall and see if you get caught. I'm all about somebody getting their money. I'm happy about you getting your money. I'm ecstatic because you never know when you're going to go down. You never know when you're gonna get injured or you're not gonna play anymore. There've been two or three guys – Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins, that wanted that bag and waited and then got hurt. Which was unfortunate. They deserved it too. Get it how you can get it," Tim added.
Riley did not get away with it in 1996 because it turned out that the NBA counts every team's numbers. Meanwhile, the Clippers nearly got away until Pablo Torre exposed it. Pending the completion of the investigation, it remains to be seen what kind of punishment Kawhi and the Clippers will recieve.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
