Sep 29, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) poses during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

As the L.A. Clippers' scandal over possible salary cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard continues to unfold, we're getting more answers and clarity seemingly by the day. Amidst all the reported chaos and details behind the scenes, it's still unclear exactly what role Leonard played here. That is, if he had any meaningful role at all.

Monday's Clippers Media Day afforded Leonard the opportunity to speak up and explain his thoughts on what happened.

Fittingly, given Leonard's reputation for keeping his cards close to his vest, his explanation was very matter-of-fact.

I would even go so far as to say that, when boiled down, it was a low-effort approach to cast doubt on the situation and distance himself from it. Though, in all fairness, I'm not sure Leonard could've really said anything else, especially since we still don't know how closely and precisely involved he was with the Clippers and Aspiration:

Of note, it initially sounds like Leonard is denigrating Pablo Torre's reporting on the scandal here. But if you listen more closely, Leonard's denoting that he doesn't partake in "conspiracy" and "clickbait" sounds like it's more of a shot at social media aggregators recklessly running with any information on this story that they can. There is, quite obviously, a massive difference in parties to criticize there. So, no, dearest readers, Leonard didn't go full Mark Cuban.

Leonard would also tersely state that he didn't actually receive any money from his Aspiration contract:

Short and to the point. Honestly, at this specific point in time, no further elaboration is necessary!

There's one more key point. Leonard maintained that whatever issues he or the Clippers might have as a result of the fallout of this investigation pale in comparison to what they've already endured in the past. For one, Leonard's house caught on fire during the Southern California wildfires in January 2025. That is certainly much more traumatic and harmful to a player's psyche than a discussion about proper (or improper) financial bookkeeping.

Kawhi Leonard was quiet and reserved when asked to clarify his role in the Clippers' scandal. In other words, he was ... Kawhi Leonard. There's still a lot to sort through here, but it's unsurprising that we didn't really get more elaborate answers from the Clippers star. Leonard would've probably talked like this about any subject. Point blank.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kawhi Leonard fittingly dismissed Clippers scandal with low effort

Reporting by Robert Zeglinski, For The Win / For The Win

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