The Los Angeles Clippers denied allegations from former team trainer Randy Shelton saying Kawhi Leonard faced "unsafe and illegal treatment for injuries."

NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Thursday that Shelton filed a lawsuit against the Clippers for wrongful termination. Shelton alleged Los Angeles fired him after he issued a complaint that Leonard "was being subjected to unsafe and illegal treatment for injuries."

The Clippers responded with a statement that said, "Mr. Shelton's claims were investigated and found to be without merit. We honored Mr. Shelton's employment contract and paid him in full. This lawsuit is a belated attempt to shake down the Clippers based on accusations that Mr. Shelton should know are false."

The allegations about the six-time All-Star's injury treatments weren't the only ones included in the lawsuit.

Haynes noted it also included "allegations of tampering years prior to signing the star."

Los Angeles signed Leonard ahead of the 2019-20 season right after he led the Toronto Raptors to a championship. It was the second championship of his career, and the Clippers overhauled their roster by also adding Paul George that offseason.

According to Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Shelton said in the lawsuit that the Clippers hired him as part of their efforts to land Leonard because he had previously worked with the forward at San Diego State.

The Clippers hired Shelton as a strength and conditioning coach during the same offseason that they signed Leonard.

According to Holmes and Shelburne, the lawsuit says the Clippers first reached out to Shelton in 2017 when Leonard was still with the San Antonio Spurs. The team sought out "private health information" and urged "discretion" was needed as it spoke with Shelton approximately 15 times on the phone in addition to several in-person meetings, per the lawsuit.

Shelton said the Clippers showed "disregard for the NBA's prohibitions on tampering" throughout the process.

He also said he met with Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and was "personally assured" there would be a role waiting for him with the team if Leonard signed with them.

That stands in stark contrast to Frank's comments at Leonard's introductory news conference.

"We never had a conversation with Kawhi or with any of his people," Frank said at the time. "We always felt by doing it out in front that we were being very, very transparent. We know the rules. We follow the rules. With how [Clippers owner Steve Ballmer] does business, his integrity is No. 1. We are always going to be above the line."

While Los Angeles ended up hiring Shelton, he alleged in the lawsuit that his role was quickly diminished and health information was withheld from him. He also said the team was far more concerned with Leonard's productivity and having him on the court than his overall recovery process. The lawsuit claims that the Clippers called a proposed recovery time of 730 days following his ACL tear during the 2021 playoffs on top of other injuries "unacceptable."

Leonard sat out the 2021-22 season but ended up suffering additional knee issues and two ruptured ligaments in his right ankle during the 2022-23 campaign. He also suffered a torn right meniscus during the playoffs that season.

After that season, Shelton said he wrote a complaint to Frank regarding his own diminished role, according to Holmes and Shelburne. He also said the "mishandling of Kawhi Leonard's injury and return-to-play protocol has been mind-blowing" and that "the disregard for his recovery process is unacceptable," they added.

While Frank said the team would investigate the situation, Shelton said his allegations were deemed unsubstantiated and he was subsequently fired without cause in July 2023. He also said he wasn't properly compensated for expenses and reimbursements.

Shelton is seeking "significant" but unspecified damages from the Clippers.