TITLE: Clippers Insist NBA Investigation Has Not Influenced Recent Trades
SLUG: clippers-nba-investigation-harden-zubac-trades
CONTENT:
The Los Angeles Clippers say the NBA’s ongoing investigation into Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement agreement with the bankrupt California firm Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC has had no effect on the franchise’s roster decisions, including the trades that shipped James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers last week.
“We know it’s out there, and at some point there’ll be a decision,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. “We feel we’re on the right side of this, and it really doesn’t impact anything we do on a daily basis.”
Probe dates back to September
The league opened its inquiry after journalist Pablo Torre reported in September that a $28 million endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration might have violated salary-cap rules. Leonard has denied wrongdoing, saying he never received the full amount owed, and the Clippers have maintained they complied with all regulations.
Surprise deals reshape roster
Despite a season that started 6-21 but has since included 19 wins in the past 25 games, the Clippers executed two unexpected swaps:
- James Harden to Cleveland: Los Angeles received 25-year-old guard Darius Garland.
- Ivica Zubac to Indiana: The Pacers sent two first-round picks and fourth-year wing Bennedict Mathurin.
Frank said Cleveland initiated conversations about Harden, 36, while Indiana presented a “Godfather-type offer” for Zubac, the longest-tenured player on the roster. “I was kind of hoping they wouldn’t meet our threshold,” Frank admitted.
Emotional farewell for Zubac
Zubac, who entered the league with the Lakers before joining the Clippers in 2019, visited the team’s practice facility for a six-to-eight-hour goodbye. Teammates, coaches and staff said their farewells just days after his wife gave birth to their first child. “There were a lot of tears,” Frank said.
Leonard ‘hurt and disappointed’ but supportive
Frank acknowledged Leonard was upset to see Harden and Zubac leave but added the All-NBA forward “has been a great partner.” According to Frank, Leonard understands that sustaining success sometimes requires “really, really hard decisions.”
The Clippers host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night as they continue their push up the Western Conference standings.
Source: ESPN.com
