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NBA Investigating Jerry West & Clippers' Recruitment of Kawhi Leonard

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

The Los Angeles Clippers were supposed to be NBA champions after acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, instead they are being investigated. 

The Los Angeles Clippers were picked as the favorites to win it all last season but flopped so hard that it resulted in Doc Rivers taking his coaching talents to Philadelphia. Now, TMZ Sports is reporting the NBA is investigating Jerry West and the Clippers’ recruitment of their star player Kawhi Leonard.

According to the celebrity gossip site, the NBA has launched its own investigation after the team was slapped with a lawsuit by a man named Johnny Wilkes. In the suit, Wilkes claims West and the Clippers stiffed him on $2.5 million he was promised for helping the Clippers level up by signing Kawhi Leonard.

If the NBA does find any wrongdoing on the Clippers’ part, the organization will be subject to league discipline. In a statement to TMZ Sports, West has denied the allegations against him, stating, “I deny engaging in any improper conduct in connection with the signing of Kawhi Leonard.”

Wilkes claims in his lawsuit that he is close with Kawhi’s uncle Dennis Robertson and boasted that he had information that would give the Clippers the advantage in signing Kawhi, who at the time was the league’s top free agent. Wilkes is also claiming that he helped broker the deal between West and Uncle Dennis and that West promised to give Roberston a travel expense account and a Southern California home.

Leonard eventually signed with the Clippers, but Robertson never received the $2.5 million he claims that West owes him, and now we are here, and he claims West and the Clippers didn’t honor the contract agreed to.

The fun but quiet guy, Kawhi Leonard, did speak on the matter following the Clippers preseason matchup with the Utah Jazz on Thursday (Dec.18). When asked if Wilkes was involved in helping him joining the Clippers, he replied, “Not at all,” Leonard said … “That has nothing to do with me coming here.”

Entering the expedited 2020-21 season, the Clippers were hoping for a fresh start. Instead, there is more drama for the organization to deal with. We shall see how this plays out as the season tips off on December 22.

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty

NBA Launches Investigation Into Jerry West & The Los Angeles Clippers’ Recruitment of Kawhi Leonard  was originally published on cassiuslife.com