Before Kawhi Leonard signed with the Clippers in 2019, the Lakers were among the teams interested in the star forward. That was until Leonard's uncle, Dennis Robertson, made multiple requests for Leonard that would have violated the NBA's collective bargaining agreement and turned the Lakers away.
Reports from Pablo Torre emerged earlier this month that the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by having Leonard sign a no-show endorsement deal with a now bankrupt company, Aspiration, with ties to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Amid this reporting, which has prompted an investigation by the NBA, The Athletic resurfaced reporting from 2019 that detailed Leonard's many requests for Los Angeles in free agency.
