Danilo Gallinari Slams Kawhi Leonard: ‘He Ruined My Career, Should Pay $50 Million

That relative leniency toward the star forward drew sharp criticism from Gallinari, whose own playing tenure in Los Angeles was abruptly terminated by Leonard’s demands six years prior.

“Di quei 50 milioni dovrebbe pagarli tutti,” Gallinari said on the podcast, as noted by Pianeta Basket. “Ha cambiato la traiettoria della mia carriera e mi ha messo nei casini mandandomi via da Los Angeles.” Translated to English, the veteran forward argued that Leonard should pay the entire sum—suggesting it should be donated to charity—rather than the $700,000 penalty assessed by the league, because the player’s offseason ultimatums fundamentally altered his professional path.

The 2019 Blockbuster Trade That Shifted the NBA Landscape

The root of Gallinari’s grievances stretches back to July 2019. Fresh off winning an NBA championship and capturing Finals MVP honors with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard entered unrestricted free agency. Chronicle reports from that summer established that Leonard informed the Clippers front office he would only sign with the franchise if they acquired a second star to play alongside him.

That condition triggered a significant trade. To land Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Clippers mortgaged their future and roster depth, dispatching Gallinari, a young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round draft picks, and two pick swaps. Only after that colossal package was finalized did Leonard give the franchise his commitment.

For Gallinari, the trade meant an unexpected exit from Southern California just as he was playing some of the best basketball of his career. During the 2018-19 campaign with the Clippers, the Italian sharpshooter averaged 19.8 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent from beyond the arc. Instead of building on that momentum in Los Angeles, he found himself relocated to Oklahoma City.

Reflecting on Oklahoma City and a Changing League Dynamic

Despite the abrupt nature of his departure, Gallinari acknowledged that his lone season with the Thunder yielded positive results both personally and professionally. Playing under head coach Billy Donovan during the 2019-20 season, Gallinari averaged 18.7 points and 5.2 rebounds across 62 appearances, helping propel a rebuilding OKC squad into the Western Conference playoffs.

“Alla fine quello che ha pagato sono stato io. Il mio percorso NBA non è dipeso da un general manager o da un proprietario, ma da un giocatore che ha deciso che quella squadra non andava bene e voleva altro,” Gallinari noted, emphasizing his frustration that player empowerment could completely bypass traditional front-office planning.

Following his stint in Oklahoma City, Gallinari signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks via a sign-and-trade deal in November 2020. Yet, looking back at the mechanics of the 2019 transaction—and contrasting it with recent league findings regarding the Clippers’ cap circumvention—Gallinari maintains that elite players wielding unprecedented leverage often leave foundational pieces of a roster to absorb the collateral damage.