Danilo Gallinari has sent Kawhi Leonard a bill for his career detour.
The total: $50 million.
The proposed recipient: charity.
The supporting evidence is considerably less tidy.
Speaking on the “A Cresta Alta” podcast, Gallinari blamed Leonard for ending his Clippers tenure in 2019, when Los Angeles included him in the blockbuster trade that brought Paul George from Oklahoma City.
“He changed the trajectory of my career,” Gallinari said. “He should pay all $50 million, not just $700,000.”
The $700,000 refers to the fine Leonard received after the NBA determined that salary-cap rules had been violated through arrangements involving the Clippers. The franchise received a record $30 million fine, lost five first-round selections and watched owner Steve Ballmer receive a one-year suspension.
Gallinari’s attempt to connect that scandal to his own exit is stranger still. The cap case centered partly on a $28 million Aspiration endorsement agreement under which Leonard reportedly performed no promotional work—an arrangement made years after Gallinari had been traded.
Whatever the no-show scheme says about Leonard and the Clippers, it did not cost Gallinari his roster spot. Turning a later salary-cap violation into restitution for an earlier personnel decision requires combining two controversies that have little to do with each other.
This seems to be Gallinari’s preferred punishment for a player he believes wielded enough power to redirect his life. Leonard wanted another star before joining the Clippers, prompting the front office to acquire George in a mammoth package that also included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks and two swaps.
There is something understandable beneath Gallinari’s grievance. Players routinely learn they have been traded after executives make cold calculations. Having another player effectively initiate the process might sting differently.
Calling the move responsible for Gallinari’s subsequent career, however, requires some imaginative accounting.
He averaged 18.7 points and 5.2 rebounds during his lone Thunder season, shot 40.6 percent from 3-point range and helped Oklahoma City reach the playoffs. He then signed a three-year, $61.4 million contract with Atlanta.
That is a strange definition of financial ruin.
Gallinari was also 31 during his Oklahoma City season. His eventual decline arrived at an age when most NBA careers begin bending downward, and only after he secured another enormous payday.
Leonard is hardly innocent in the Clippers scandal, but the cold reality of winning in modern sports is not another offense to add to his ledger.
