Danilo Gallinari Takes Kawhi Leonard To Task For Clippers Punishment, Believes Star Should 'pay All $50 Million'

Former Los Angeles Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari believes Kawhi Leonard got off light when he was fined $700,000 by the NBA for his involvement in the team trying to circumvent the salary cap.

During an episode of the "A Cresta Alta" podcast, Gallinari explained how he was slighted by the Leonard signing and said he believes Leonard should "pay all $50 million of that money he took."

The podcast is recorded with participants speaking Italian, but YouTube's auto-dub feature translated Gallinari's comments, which read:

"In my opinion, since he changed the trajectory of my career — he got me in trouble by sending me away from Los Angeles — he deserves to pay all $50 million of that money he took. He has to pay it all."

Gallinari added that he believes Leonard should donate that money to charity.

Gallinari was among those directly affected by the trade. The same day Leonard signed, the Clippers announced they traded Gallinari and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Paul George.

The trade ultimately worked out better for Gallinari and Gilgeous-Alexander, which Gallinari admitted while making his point. Gilgeous-Alexander has since developed into one of the best players in the NBA and Gallinari played well enough in his one season with the team that he received a lucrative deal with the Atlanta Hawks the following offseason.

While that doesn't sound like the worst outcome, Gallinari explained why he's still irked about the situation many years later.

"My NBA journey didn't depend on a GM, an owner … but it was taken by a player. A player who decided that the team wasn't good enough, that he wanted something else."

Gallinari's $50 million figure is a reference to how much money Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funnelled into Aspiration, the company that reportedly paid Leonard at least $28 million for "no-show jobs" as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap.

Evidence of that deal was revealed during an episode of the the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast. That episode eventually resulted in the NBA opening up an investigation into Leonard's original deal with the Clippers.

After months, the NBA revealed its findings, fining Ballmer $30 million and suspending him from team activities for a year. Leonard was fined $700,000 for his involvement in the scheme, though he was not suspended.

Ballmer and the Clippers initially pushed back against the findings before the owner finally accepted the NBA's punishment Sunday.

With Leonard cleared to play, it's assumed the Clippers and Toronto Raptors will complete their offseason trade involving Leonard. The two teams originally agreed to a deal back in June, but the trade was put on hold thanks to the NBA's investigation.

Assuming that trade goes through, Leonard will be clear to play in the Raptors' first game of the 2026-27 NBA season. He'll do so with his pocketbook $700,000 lighter, but Gallinari believes that's a small price to pay for Leonard's transgressions.