Kawhi Leonard returns to Toronto: a 700,000-dollar fine for him, 30 million and five picks for the club

One of the biggest investigations in NBA history has ended, and the bill has been split unevenly. Kawhi Leonard pays a 700,000-dollar fine for circumventing the salary cap rules - he pressed the Clippers to secure him off-court income and did not return money paid out for personal expenses. The Clippers pay 30 million dollars, lose five first-round picks, and owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for a year. Leonard, meanwhile, has according to reports collected tens of millions from endorsement deals. According to Shams Charania, the Clippers and the Raptors have already talked and are heading toward a trade, with a long-term extension waiting in Toronto - probably the last big contract of his career. The 35-year-old is entering his 15th season and returning to the place where seven years ago he delivered the club's only title. Last season he averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games. When a player's fine is smaller than the commission on a single endorsement deal, it is hard to call it a fine.

Red Star turned the quarter and brought down Milan in Crete

A preseason tournament in Crete, and you can already see who has depth. Red Star trailed for almost the entire game, then outscored Milan 30:18 in the final quarter and reached a 91:85 win. The top scorer was Jordan Nwora with 23 points, while Patrick Baldwin Jr added 13 points and 5 rebounds on debut. For the Italians, new centre Moses Wright put up a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Garrison Mathews, just arrived from the NBA, hit three from beyond the arc for 13 points. A second consecutive win for the Belgrade side in preparation. The preseason brings nothing, but it shows who falls apart in the last ten minutes - and Milan fell apart there.

Olympiacos brought down Fenerbahçe in the finish, the final is a Balkan one

In the semi-final of the same tournament in Crete, Olympiacos beat Fenerbahçe 82:77 in a game settled in the final seconds. The Turks led for most of the match and entered the last quarter 58:57 up, then could not hold on. And that without Sasha Vezenkov, Jean Montero and Nikola Milutinov on court for the Greeks - Evan Fournier carried the team with 19 points, Donta Hall added 16 points and 8 rebounds, Tyler Dorsey 15. Fenerbahçe's best was Wade Baldwin with 16 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. The final is now Olympiacos against Red Star, with Milan and Fenerbahçe playing for third. The region is once again where it wants to be - at the end of the tournament, with a duel worth watching.

Madžari has become KK Skopje: the runner-up enters ABA 2 under a new name

The most pleasant surprise of last season in domestic basketball is changing its name. Madžari, the team that reached the playoff final and lost there to MZT Skopje, plays this season in the ABA 2 league and is rebranding as KK Skopje. The club says the new name carries recognisability and unites the spirit of the city with the sporting energy of the Gazi Baba municipality, and it is calling back its supporters' core - the "Pirates". Nobody disputes that Gazi Baba produces athletes. But going from Madžari to Skopje changes the sign, and ABA 2 is played with a budget, not with a message. If the new name comes with new funding, then this is a step. If not - then it is a new shirt over an old problem.

Pero Antić: "Macedonia deserves a team in this league" - but Partizan's budget is 28 million euros

The ABA league is celebrating 25 years, and Pero Antić, former national team captain and three-time Euroleague winner, stated the reality unfiltered. Macedonia has no team in the ABA 1, and that will not change through enthusiasm. "Partizan's budget is 28 million euros. The finances are the main story," said Antić, a former president of the basketball federation. He added that there is no sense in entering just to take part: "To be cannon fodder, to play for a year and then drop out, that is absurd to me." He also mentioned his own unfulfilled wish - he won the Euroleague, but missed the ABA league in 2018 against Budućnost. The most precise sentence was another one: "There were no finances, we truly played for our clubs, for our hearts, for our souls." Twenty-five years later, the soul remains - only now it costs 28 million.