Former NBA No. 1 overall pick Joe Smith believes the penalties handed down to the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard are “pretty fair” after the league’s investigation into salary-cap circumvention.
Smith, who was at the center of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ infamous 2000 salary-cap scandal, told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson that he could accept the NBA’s punishment while noting that his own case carried more severe personal consequences.
“I can rock with that,” Smith told ScoopB.com. “I can rock with that.”
The NBA ruled Wednesday that the Clippers and Leonard violated the league’s salary-cap circumvention rules following an independent investigation by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The league said the investigation uncovered a “pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations.”
Los Angeles was stripped of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033 and fined $30 million. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year, while President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker received a one-year unpaid suspension and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months.
Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000, while his former business manager, Dennis Robertson, was banned from conducting business with NBA teams and affiliates for five years.
Smith believes the treatment of Leonard differs significantly from what he experienced in Minnesota. In 2000, the NBA voided Smith’s contract with the Timberwolves and forced him to choose between serving a one-year suspension or leaving Minnesota.
“Mine was a little more severe because I had to face suspension or I had to go to another team and that’s why I ended up in Detroit,” Smith said. “But I mean, I can deal with that. He has to pay a fine. I didn’t have to pay a fine, he has to pay a fine. The team is getting punished.”
The former NBA forward also pointed to a major difference in how representatives were treated. Smith said his agents did not face league discipline during the Timberwolves case, whereas Robertson received a five-year ban in connection with the Clippers investigation.
“When I went through, my agents never got anything handed out to them,” Smith said. “They were still able to represent players, they were still able to do things around the league as much as they wanted to.”
The NBA said the Clippers facilitated off-court income opportunities for Leonard involving Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance. The league also found that the organization paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives.
Leonard, who is returning to the Toronto Raptors as part of an offseason trade from Los Angeles, is coming off one of the strongest statistical seasons of his career. He averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games during the 2025-26 season while shooting 50.5% from the field, 38.7% from three-point range and 89.2% from the free-throw line.
The 35-year-old earned All-NBA Second Team honors and finished seventh in MVP voting as the Clippers went 42-40 and finished ninth in the Western Conference.
Despite the scale of the investigation, Smith believes Leonard should not face a suspension that would cost him playing time.
“I don’t think he should miss any time,” Smith said. “That’s a tough situation for any player to have to go through contract-wise, especially when you’re depending on other people to have your best interest at heart.”
Smith ultimately viewed the punishment as a reasonable balance between holding the organization and representatives accountable while allowing Leonard to continue his career.
“I was faced with a couple different decisions than Kawhi is, but at the end of the day, I think that’s pretty fair,” Smith said.
