Clippers' Frank Talks NBA's Kawhi Investigation, Says It Took 'Godfather-Type Offer' to Trade Zubac

The direction the Los Angeles Clippers are heading is a bit unclear after the team traded James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of last week's deadline, but any decisions they've made haven't been affected by the league's investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the company he endorsed.

"We haven't learned anything more than we have in September," Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said of the investigation Monday. "We know it's out there, we know at some point there'll be a decision made. We very much feel the same thing that we told you back in September, that we're on the right side of this. It really doesn't impact anything we do on a daily basis."

The Harden trade was surprising, but perhaps inevitable since he reportedly wanted out of Los Angeles. Arguably the more shocking deal was the one that sent Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers in return for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and one second-round pick.

Frank said Zubac "embodies everything we want as a Clipper" and only traded him because of the "Godfather-type offer" that the Pacers sent.

"We didn't want to trade him, but if there's an offer that's just too good to say no to, that enhances our future, we're gonna have to seriously think about it," he told reporters.

The Clippers had a rough 6-21 start to the season, but have enjoyed a surge over the past month-and-a-half. They're currently sitting in ninth place in the West at 25-27.