Former NBA player Danilo Gallinari has publicly criticized the $700,000 fine imposed on Kawhi Leonard, arguing that the player should instead pay $50 million to charity. Gallinari’s comments, made on the A Cresta Alta podcast, follow a sweeping NBA investigation that resulted in historic penalties for the Los Angeles Clippers regarding salary-cap circumvention.
The league’s investigation, concluded in September 2026, found that the Clippers violated salary-cap rules, leading to a $30 million fine for the organization and the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks between 2029 and 2033. While the team faces these structural sanctions, Leonard was personally fined $700,000, and his former business manager, Dennis Robertson, received a five-year ban from NBA business activities, as reported by BasketNews.
Gallinari claims that Leonard’s influence on the team’s roster construction in 2019—specifically the trade for Paul George—directly altered his own career trajectory. “He should pay all of that $50 million,” Gallinari stated during the podcast. “He changed the trajectory of my career and put me in a difficult situation by sending me away from Los Angeles. What happened to my NBA career wasn’t decided by a general manager or an owner, but by a player.”
The NBA’s disciplinary actions also include a one-year suspension for team owner Steve Ballmer and significant suspensions for President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank, marking one of the most severe administrative penalties in league history.