What Lawrence Frank said about the Aspiration investigation
Recently, the The Los Angeles Clippers surprised many at the NBA trade deadline until merchant James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers. The moves appeared to be aimed at building a future in Los Angeles, despite the fact that the Clippers have fielded some of the best basketball in the NBA since the calendar turned to 2026.
Some fans have wondered if the league’s current investigation into the Clippers, and the alleged no-show deal they gave Kawhi Leonard to bypass the NBA salary cap, may have played a role in the team’s decision to blow up the current core, but recently the team’s president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was adamant about it this was not the case.
“We didn’t learn anything more than we learned in September,” Frank told ESPN.com. “We know it’s there, we know there’s going to be a decision at some point. We feel very much the same thing we told you back in September, that we’re on the right side of this. It really doesn’t affect anything we do on a day-to-day basis.”
At this point, there is no indication when the NBA might finally make a decision on the investigation, which was prompted by Pablo Torre’s report on the alleged controversy with Leonard.
The Clippers are scheduled to host NBA All-Star Weekend next weekend at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
Meanwhile, Leonard has played some of the best basketball of his career in recent weeks, returning to a league-winning two-way force with the San Antonio Spurs and helping the Clippers slowly climb the standings in the vaunted Western Conference.
Either way, the Clippers will take the floor next on Tuesday night on the road against the Houston Rockets.
2026-02-10 16:33:00
