The NBA was rocked a few weeks ago with the announcement that the Los Angeles Clippers and their superstar Kawhi Leonard had used outside vendors to circumvent the league’s salary cap restrictions.

Leonard, who signed with the Clippers in the summer of 2019, was already earning the maximum salary allowed under the current agreement between the league and the player’s association. However, when his representatives said they wanted more, allegedly the creative minds of the of all parties involved cooked up a scheme that paid Leonard the money off the books and illegally.

The Clippers introduced Leonard to outside companies who eventually hired him as a consultant and endorser of their products, while the Clippers simultaneously inked deals with the same companies. Voila! Here was the additional money Leonard and his representatives had wanted.

After its investigation, the NBA lowered the hammer on the Clipper organization and on Kawhi Leonard by fining the team $30 million, stripping them of their next five first round draft picks, suspending team owner Steve Ballmer from all NBA activities for a year, and fining Leonard $700,000.

While the team itself is contesting the findings and say they are going to appeal the punishment, one would think the NBA had found enough evidence before they would have acted in such a dramatic fashion.

If the findings are upheld and indeed found to be true, I’m sure all involved will find very little sympathy from the outside world. Kawhi Leonard had signed a $100 million contract in 2019 to play for the Clippers. Owner Steve Ballmer, of Microsoft fame, is the richest owner in the NBA, clocking in at an estimated $150 billion new worth. The median player income in the league is $6 million, and the NBA front offices are filled with well compensated executives.

With so much money at play, one has to wonder what drives people to desire “more,” even at the risk of suspensions, fines, punishments and tarnished reputations. It begs the question of how much is enough? If the richest owner in the league is willing to play this shell game, then it can’t be about money. Maybe it’s about power, ego, hubris or any of the other Achilles heals that make up the human experience.

Whatever drives us to make these types of decisions, the final filter will always be our integrity. It knows the difference between good and bad, right and wrong, and it is always there for us. We can either listen to it, or we can push it aside. However, when we ignore it, there is ultimately a price to pay, whether it’s losing draft picks, or just having the feeling that we somehow failed, even if we didn’t get caught.

Baxter Scruggs

No matter what your definition of success is, or where you find yourself on this journey called life, these thirty stories will provide a fresh perspective, and help you rethink those beliefs that limit your goals, dreams and aspirations.