The Special Free Agency Requests From Kawhi's Camp Are In And They Are Outrageous

(The Athletic) - The stories about Robertson’s wish list made their way to the league office soon after Leonard made his decision, with concerned parties reporting that Leonard’s uncle had asked pursuing teams for much, much more than a max contract (Kawhi ultimately signed a three-year, $103 million deal with the Clippers). Sources say the league was told that Robertson asked team officials for part ownership of the team, a private plane that would be available at all times, a house and  — last but certainly not least — a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money that they could expect if Leonard played for their team. All of those items, to be clear, would fall well outside the confines of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

It was only a matter of time before someone got the goods on what Kawhi's camp aka his Uncle Dennis was asking teams while negotiating his free agency. You may remember the Raptors had leaks that what they were asking for was ridiculous. These mystery requests were all the rage

That was in mid July. It talked about asking for things that players don't usually bring to the table. I theorized ownership, flying on the team plane whenever they wanted, shit like that. Well then a few weeks went by and Stephen A went on TV talking about how what Uncle Dennis was asking for was against the CBA

At this point who would doubt that Steve Ballmer was willing to do whatever it took to make this signing happen. The man has more money than God, what the hell does he care about any sort of fine or draft pick loss. If the result is his team gets Kawhi and Paul George then guess what he's going to do. 

Well now The Athletic is pretty much confirming what we all thought. Part ownership and a private jet? Done and done. A house? Uhh sure no problem how does 10,000 sq ft sound. The article goes on to talk about how the Lakers turned down that request because it's against the rules. They also try and make you believe that the Clippers said no as well

While sources with knowledge of the investigation said no evidence was found indicating that the Clippers had granted any of the lavish requests, the underlying message coming from Commissioner Adam Silver remains: He sees salary cap circumvention as a cardinal sin in the NBA, and will always keep a watchful eye on that front. If any relevant evidence of improper benefits surfaces in the future, the league will re-open the investigation and pursue the charges yet again.

Yeah OK. Let me get this straight. Two other franchises that had interest from Kawhi, the Raptors and the Clippers, decided to play by the rules and not give into these demands. Did either of those teams land Kawhi? Didn't think so. What team did? Oh the Clippers, the ones who essentially have a tampering budget. Listen, in my opinion all is fair in NBA free agency and if that means you break the CBA and hope nothing happens then so be it. I mean the damage is done, what is the league going to do? Force Kawhi to not play? Make Paul George go back to OKC? Probably not. Take every draft pick for the next 10 years and guess what it'll be worth it for Ballmer if the Clippers win the title, something that is only a possibility because of Kawhi.

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Uncle Dennis man. He's like the second most powerful person in the NBA after Rich Paul. Best believe he's going to have Kawhi opt out too after next season. If Kawhi wins another title before then? Negotiations start at ownership of not just the team, but the NBA arena.