Sources: NBA probe into Clippers, Kawhi Leonard could go into '27 - ESPN

The NBA investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard could drag into 2027 if the parties don't agree on the findings or any proposed settlement that involves punishing the team, sources with knowledge of the case told ESPN on Wednesday.

Sources close to the National Basketball Players Association with knowledge of the investigation said the union wouldn't hesitate to take the matter to arbitration if the NBA sought penalties without sufficient evidence proving the claim that the Clippers have denied since the league's probe began nearly 10 months ago.

On July 9, NBPA executive director David Kelly told reporters in Las Vegas that he didn't believe there was a «there, there» regarding whether the Clippers compensated Leonard through a $28 million endorsement deal that he signed in 2022 with the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration, which also had a $300 million, 23-year endorsement deal with the Clippers.

When asked if he believed there was anything that the New York law firm Wachtell Lipton — which is directing the NBA's investigation — had uncovered that was worthy of punishment, Kelly replied, «Not from anything I've seen.»

One source with knowledge of the investigative process cautioned against the idea of any outside parties having inside knowledge of Watchell's findings to date — or of anyone trying to speculate as to whether the length of the investigation signals what Wachtell has or hasn't found.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said July 14 that this case was a complicated process that involved bankruptcy courts and reluctant witnesses.

If the parties — which include the Clippers and the National Basketball Players Association — can't agree, the matter could