The Kawhi Leonard case remains unresolved, with the recent investigation update keeping his trade to the Toronto Raptors on pause. Now, in the middle of all the scandal, Leonard’s demands to join the Los Angeles Lakers back in 2019 have been revealed.
Sam Amick of The Athletic previously reported that Leonard had a staggering list of demands for the Lakers. Behind his uncle and infamous business manager, Dennis Robertson, Leonard wanted the franchise to meet lofty conditions before he would consider signing with the purple and gold:
- Part ownership of the team
- A private plane that would be available at all times
- A house
- A guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money
Robertson repeatedly demanded all these from Jeanie Buss, but the Lakers governor ultimately dismissed them due to obvious illegality under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Kawhi Leonard during a LA Clippers match.
Kawhi’s suspicious decision
What was once puzzling now makes sense regarding why he ended up choosing that destination. In the end, Leonard joined the Clippers on a three-year, $103.1 million contract. At that time, no one knew that both sides had a handshake agreement that would create headlines across the NBA six years later.
New revelation in the investigation
After fully exposing Leonard and the Clippers’ ties to Aspiration through a dummy $28 million endorsement contract, investigative journalist Pablo Torre recently revealed another crucial detail, adding a new dimension to the case surrounding the star forward.
According to Torre, Leonard apparently has another hidden channel to receive off-the-books money from the Clippers. Daktronics, the manufacturer of Los Angeles’ scoreboard, has a secret multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with Leonard.
The Clippers commissioned Daktronics for $100 million for the construction of the famous “Halo Board” at Intuit Dome, raising questions about how much Leonard earned through this secret deal with the electronics company.
