Xiaoka is suspected of a Yin-Yang contract! Famous reporter: The investigation may not be completed until after the playoffs next year

On September 6, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov jointly reported that a source familiar with the situation revealed that the NBA has hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, a well-known New York law firm. Katz, is investigating an endorsement deal between Kawhi Leonard and a now-bankrupt environmental company that was designed to help his team and its owner, billionaire Steve Ballmer, circumvent the NBA's salary cap.

According to a joint report by salary expert Bobby Marks and reporter Baxter Holmes who work for ESPN, a person familiar with the investigation process revealed that the investigation may last for several months and may not be completed until the end of the 2026 NBA playoffs.

But the above-mentioned person also pointed out that according to the NBA labor agreement, after the investigation results are released, Silver is not the only arbiter to decide whether the Clippers will be punished. Watcher Lipton will submit its findings to the league office, and Silver must rely on those findings (or lack thereof) to decide whether to submit any potential evidence to a neutral arbitrator jointly appointed by the NBA and the players union.

The arbitrator will review the materials submitted by Xiao Hua and decide on the subsequent procedures. The arbitrator can either authorize Silver to impose penalties on the Clippers, or find insufficient evidence and deny the league's right to punish the team.

"If you want to punish a team, owner, player or any league member, the burden of proof lies with the league," Silver told reporters after the league's board of directors meeting in Midtown Manhattan in mid-September. "I believe that any process that pursues basic fairness should bear the burden of proof on the party making the accusation."