Kawhi Leonard Brushes Off Torre Report Amid Clippers Cap Fallout
Leonard deflected questions about the latest Boingo bombshell as the Clippers absorb a $30M fine and five lost first-rounders. Here's the fantasy read.
Off-court noise, not an injury — he's still a top-10 asset when healthy.
- Clippers fined $30M, lose 2029-33 first-rounders
- Leonard paid NBA $700K in restitution
- Boingo deal paid him $1.9M for one photo-op
- 2025-26: 45.9 fantasy pts/game in 65 games
- Ballmer suspended one year for role in scandal
Kawhi Leonard wants nothing to do with the story that's blown up his offseason. Asked Monday at Raptors media day whether he keeps up with Pablo Torre's reporting, Leonard said he doesn't follow it, isn't entertained by it, and doesn't even know what Torre is talking about. Classic Kawhi — flat affect, zero engagement, let the NBA own the mess.
The mess is substantial. Torre's latest episode reported that Leonard's $1.9-million deal with Boingo Wireless required just an hour-long photo-op with U.S. military members at Camp Pendleton back in 2022 — a former Boingo executive called the arrangement "really gross." The broader investigation into cap circumvention cost the Clippers a $30-million fine, five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, and a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer.
Leonard himself didn't walk away clean. He was ordered to pay the NBA $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits, and his uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, has been banned from NBA business dealings for five years. Front-office execs Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank also drew suspensions. On top of all that, federal prosecutors and the SEC have opened their own probes.
What It Means For Your Roster
Here's the good news for managers: none of this is a basketball story. It's a cap story, a federal story, a Boingo story. Leonard isn't facing a suspension, and nothing in the reporting touches his availability for Toronto. His line last season (2025-26) — 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists across 65 games, good for 45.9 fantasy points per game — is the profile of a genuine difference-maker.
We still rank Leonard #9 overall and #4 at his position. The only real yellow flag is form: over his last five games he averaged 8.7 fantasy points below his season mark, and age plus his history mean load management is always lurking. But a scandal that doesn't keep him off the floor doesn't change his value on draft day.
The verdict is HOLD. If you drafted Leonard, you've got a top-10 asset weathering an off-court storm, not an injury. Let the lawyers and the league sort out the Boingo stuff — your job is to keep slotting him into your lineup every night he's active. If anything, a nervous manager in your league might sell cheap. That's the one worth watching.
