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Following a months-long investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers' alleged salary-cap circumvention scheme to pay Kawhi Leonard off the books, the NBA has yet to announce its findings.
Sports journalist Pablo Torre has gathered tons of evidence, including paper trail, deposits, and even first-hand testimony detailing how Clippers owner Steve Ballmer used a company to pay Leonard for no-show jobs, a blatant violation of the league's salary cap.
That's why the Toronto Raptors hit pause on the trade that would send their former Finals MVP back up north.
However, as HoopsHype's Michael Scotto recently reported, that's not the only deal on hold because of the Leonard scandal.
The Clippers still need to figure out what to do with Bennedict Mathurin
“The Los Angeles Clippers remain interested in re-signing restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote. “However, the Clippers are hesitant to make significant roster decisions as Kawhi Leonard’s Aspiration investigation remains ongoing and has held up his expected trade to the Toronto Raptors.”
Per Scotto, other teams are also keeping tabs on Mathurin, and they would like to engage in sign-and-trade talks for the Clippers' restricted free agent.
“Meanwhile, Mathurin has drawn sign-and-trade interest from several teams, sources said, after the 24-year-old swingman averaged a career-high 17.6 points last season,” Scotto added.
The evidence — which was also partially presented to a grand jury — is quite damning, and the fact that it's taken so long to reach a conclusion is somewhat head-scratching.
If found guilty, the Clippers could face steep punishment from commissioner Adam Silver, regardless of Ballmer's power in the NBA's Board of Governors.
But with all the uncertainty around the situation, it looks like the Clippers' hands will continue to be tied for a while.
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