Steve Ballmer

Clippers Notes: Ballmer, Aspiration, Frank, Kawhi, Beal, Collins

September 29th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Through his philanthropic arm, the Ballmer Group, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer donated $1.875MM to the Golden State Opportunity Foundation, a charity whose founder is disgraced former Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg, Pablo Torre reported Monday on his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (YouTube link).

Ballmer’s donation came in December 2024, more than a year-and-a-half after the Clippers ended their contract with Aspiration, and nearly a year after it was publicly reported that the now-bankrupt “green bank” company was under federal investigation, Torre observes. It also came a couple months after Sanberg’s co-conspirator was arrested.

It’s the latest update in an ongoing investigation from Torre, other members of the media, and the NBA, which hired a law firm to determine whether the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard circumvented the salary cap through their deals with Aspiration.

In a public statement on Monday, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reiterated the Clippers “welcome” the league’s investigation and denied the accusations (Twitter video link via Joey Linn of SI.com).

“We feel confident we are on the right side of this,” Frank said in part.

For his part, Kawhi Leonard denied any wrongdoing and said the investigation wouldn’t be a distraction during the season (Twitter links via Law Murray of The Athletic). Leonard mentioned “conspiracies” multiple times, according to Murray.

“This is old… we already knew this was going to happen,” Leonard said.

Here’s more from the Clippers’ media day:

Bradley Beal had arthroscopic surgery sometime after the season ended, tweets Murray. Beal said he was playing through right knee inflammation last season with Phoenix and had the knee scoped, which helped, as he’s feeling “good” and “ready to go” now. However, the team said he would be a limited training camp participant, according to Murray, who adds (via Twitter) that Bogdan Bogdanovic (torn hamstring) will also be a limited participant. Leonard is considered healthy and a full participant.
Beal, who signed a two-year deal (second year player option) with the Clippers after being bought out by the Suns, says he loves living in Los Angeles and has talked with Frank about potentially ending his career with the team (Twitter links via Murray). The three-time All-Star knows he won’t be a primary scoring option for the Clippers and is welcoming the challenge of taking on tough defensive assignments.
Head coach Tyronn Lue views offseason acquisition John Collins as a power forward who can play some backup center at times, per Murray (Twitter link). The Clippers landed Collins in the three-team trade that sent Norman Powell to Miami. The 28-year-old big man will earn $26.58MM this season before hitting free agency next summer.

Latest On Clippers, Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard

September 18th, 2025 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

After Mavericks minority stakeholder Mark Cuban suggested in a Twitter post that journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre should dig into the carbon credits that the Clippers bought from the now-bankrupt “green bank” company Aspiration, Torre did just that in the latest edition of his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (YouTube link).

Cuban had speculated that those carbon credits could be an easier and safer way for the team to circumvent the cap to pay Leonard, as opposed to simply investing in the company. Since the margin was so high on those credits, those purchases could provide Aspiration with a quick influx of cash that created the appearance of real revenue.

Torre’s findings point to that being a possibility, as the Clippers purchased roughly $21MM in carbon credits from Aspiration in June 2022, shortly before the first payment to Kawhi Leonard for his alleged “no-show” deal was due (Twitter video link). The Clippers had purchased another $35MM in carbon credits in April 2022, right around the time Leonard signed that endorsement agreement that didn’t actually require him to do any endorsement work.

Responding to Torre’s latest report, the Clippers said in a statement those carbon credit purchases were part of owner Steve Ballmer‘s effort to ensure Intuit Dome would be as environmentally friendly an arena as possible.

“Steve and his family are focused on sustainability, which is why Intuit Dome was designed to be a carbon neutral building from its inception and to achieve LEED Zero status over time,” the Clippers said. “Our development agreements for the arena included mandates to buy carbon credits, but after studying the issue of neutrality, we went far beyond those requirements, exploring ways to address emissions from our fans and contracting with Aspiration to directly purchase carbon offsets, as well as broker the acquisition of additional offsets.

“Some of those commitments were built into the sponsorship deal with Aspiration — totally separate of the investment in the company — and we made payments to Aspiration until the company was unable to fulfill their responsibilities.

“This effort reflects Steve wanting to set a positive example and raise awareness of the growing and important role of voluntary carbon markets. Unfortunately, he was duped on the investment and on some parts of this agreement, as were many other investors and employees.”

Here’s more on the ongoing Clippers/Leonard story:

Within his latest podcast, Torre provided some additional details on Ballmer’s $10MM investment in Aspiration in March 2023, which occurred shortly before the government began investigating the company. According to Torre, Ballmer paid $23 per share at that point, which was more than double the share price he paid when he invested $50MM in 2021. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal (Twitter links) wonders if that inflated share price was a way for Ballmer to avoid assuming more than a 5% stake in Aspiration, which is prohibited by NBA rules for any company that employs a player as an endorser.
People around the league don’t expect the investigation into Ballmer, the Clippers, and Leonard to conclude until sometime after the All-Star game, which will take place at Intuit Dome, Jake Fischer said in a Bleacher Report live stream this week (YouTube link). That probe is being conducted by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which has led multiple independent investigations for the NBA, including the 2014 inquiry into Donald Sterling that resulted in the former Clippers owner selling the team to Ballmer.
In case you missed it, John Hollinger of The Athletic took a closer look at earlier this week at the punishments that the Clippers and Leonard could face as a result of the investigation and explained why he doesn’t expect the NBA to void the forward’s contract.

Fear of Losing Kawhi Leonard Influenced Numerous Clippers’ Decisions

September 17th, 2025 at 6:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers have been operating under the fear of upsetting Kawhi Leonard and his representatives ever since he signed with the team in 2019, sources tell Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

Landing Leonard was viewed at the time as a major win for the franchise, but Holmes notes that it hasn’t completely worked out that way. Injury problems that began in San Antonio have persisted, leaving him available for just 58% of the games during his time with the Clippers, and the team only has three playoff series victories since Leonard’s signing.

In addition, Holmes states that the Clippers have been sued twice for alleged tampering violations since 2019, they’ve been fined at least twice for violations of league rules involving Leonard and they’ve been the subject of at least three NBA investigations, including the current probe of potential salary cap circumvention involving Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration.

“This last investigation is different,” a former Clippers staffer told Holmes. “This one directly calls into question (owner) Steve Ballmer‘s character. At some point, Steve has got to get out of the Kawhi business.”

The Clippers learned during the 2019 free agency pursuit that life with Leonard would be complex. A source with knowledge of the negotiations tells Holmes that Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, submitted a list of demands that included part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money. The source adds that Robertson made the same demands to the Raptors, Leonard’s current team at the time, and the Lakers, who were also heavily involved in the bidding.

Another source tells ESPN that the Clippers didn’t agree to those demands because they weren’t permissible under the collective bargaining agreement, but they did acquiesce to other requests. When he first joined the team, Leonard was permitted to live in San Diego and commute to L.A. by helicopter. He was also allowed to skip certain media obligations and team community events, and he got to bring some of his own circle into the organization.

A team source denies those allegations, telling Holmes that Leonard’s camp never made some of the reported requests and others were mischaracterized.

Another demand from Robertson was a “strict protocol” on how team officials would talk about Leonard publicly, which meant saying nothing unless it was necessary. Doc Rivers, who was the team’s head coach at the time, ran afoul of that policy early in Leonard’s first season when he told reporters that Leonard “feels great” on a night that he sat out a game due to load management. The organization refused to elaborate and was fined $50K by the league, but its silence was seen as a show of loyalty by Leonard and his camp.

A former staffer indicated to Holmes that the Clippers were wary of alienating Leonard after seeing how quickly his relationship with the Spurs dissolved over an injury dispute.

“The Spurs were maybe the most respected, most revered pro sports team in America,” the ex-employee said. “It was like if this guy is willing to tell those people to go f— themselves, he can’t possibly be afraid to tell us to go f— ourselves. … Everybody was afraid of Kawhi leaving.”

Multiple sources indicated to Holmes that details about Leonard’s health were considered to be “sacred secrets.” News releases and social media posts that mentioned Leonard were reviewed by senior leadership before being distributed, and sometimes they were submitted to Leonard’s representatives for their approval. The sensitivity regarding Leonard’s physical condition and the fear of upsetting him led to tensions inside the organization.

“It caused extreme angst within the medical department,” another former staffer said. “It was like the Clippers’ medical staff wasn’t really allowed to touch Kawhi ever.”

The fear of Leonard’s departure seems to have lessened somewhat in recent years, Holmes adds. He was eligible for a four-year, $220MM extension entering the 2023/24 season, but he ultimately settled for a three-year deal at $153MM. Clippers officials were confident that Leonard would accept the reduced offer rather than pursue free agency, where suitors would have required a medical exam.

Leonard’s latest deal runs through the 2026/27 season, and Holmes reports that multiple general managers and other executives he spoke with expect it to mark the end of his time with the Clippers.

“They’re done building around (Kawhi),” a former staffer said. “They know that and he knows that.”

Los Angeles Notes: Jones Jr., Clippers, Silver, Doncic

September 16th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t provide his former agent written notice of 15 days prior to firing him before he signed a free agent contract last year. That was a key reason why an arbitrator ruled that Jones’ former agent, Aaron Turner, was entitled to his full 4% commission of $1.2MM on the three-year, $30MM contract that Jones inked, Michael McCann of Sportico reports.

Jones stated he directly negotiated with the Clippers last year. Prior to Turner’s dismissal, the Mavericks offered Jones a three-year, $27MM contract. Jones testified he was “furious” by the offer, which was much less than he expected.

On June 26, 2024, Jones sent Turner an email saying he was terminating their Standard Player Agent Contract. Two days later, Jones asked Turner to waive the 15-day notice period and Turner declined.

Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:

So what kind of penalties could the league hit the Clippers with regarding Kawhi Leonard‘s alleged no-show endorsement deal if it’s determined the team circumvented the salary cap illegally? John Hollinger of The Athletic notes that the league could fine the Clippers up to $7.5MM, fine Leonard up to $350K, forfeit Clippers draft picks, suspend owner Steve Ballmer or other Clipper personnel up to a year and fine them up to $1MM each; void Leonard’s contract and prohibit him from re-signing with the Clippers; and require Leonard to return the money he received from Aspiration. However, if the investigation ends during the season, voiding Leonard’s contract could lead to unintended consequences, with him becoming a free agent and signing with a contender on a minimum contract, Hollinger notes.
Regarding the investigation, commissioner Adam Silver promised at the Front Office Sports conference that “we will get to the bottom of it,” according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). Silver added that “I don’t know anything about Kawhi’s deal. Show, no show; we’ll certainly find out.” The league hired a law firm to investigate the matter.
Luka Doncic admits he was shocked when the Mavericks traded him to the Lakers and wasn’t sure how to process it, he told Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal (subscription required; hat tip to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports). “I didn’t know how to react, how to act, what to say,” Doncic said. “It was a lot of shock. I felt Dallas was my home. I had many friends there. The fans always supported me. I didn’t want to upset Dallas fans. And I didn’t want to upset Laker fans.” Doncic also described his offseason conditioning program, which included one key element. “For the first time, I stopped playing basketball for a month,” he said, replacing that with “pure training and fitness.”

Latest On Clippers, Kawhi Leonard

September 13th, 2025 at 9:54am CST by Rory Maher

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer made a second investment worth nearly $10MM in the now-bankrupt “green bank” company Aspiration, according to legal filings reviewed by Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

The previously unreported investment, which occurred in March 2023 when the company was “hemorrhaging cash, laying off employees and struggling to raise funds,” was corroborated by a former Aspiration executive, Vorkunov reports.

On September 3, Pablo Torre reported on his “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast that Ballmer agreed to invest $50MM in Aspiration in September 2021 (the actual payment occurred in December 2021). Multiple sources tell Vorkunov the Clippers also made a separate $50MM+ investment in Aspiration for “carbon offsetting toward the goal of becoming carbon neutral.”

In April 2022, Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year, $28MM endorsement deal with Aspiration but there’s no evidence he ever performed any work for it.

A subsequent report from Boston Sports Journal, which was confirmed by Torre, indicated that Leonard made a separate side deal with Aspiration to receive an additional $20MM in company stock. That $20MM came directly from co-founder Joe Sanberg.

“I am personally contributing stock to Kawhi to make this partnership possible,” Sanberg wrote members of his leadership team in a May 2022 email obtained by The Athletic. “Aspiration’s CEO judged the deal to be not worth doing. For avoidance of doubt, any and all benefit to Aspiration from the Kawhi deal is being subsidized by my contributing my equity to make this happen.”

Sanberg pled guilty last month to two counts of wire fraud for defrauding investors and lenders of more than $248MM.

Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star also reported that Leonard’s camp was seeking essentially the same deal he got with Aspiration when he was a free agent in 2019.

Ballmer’s second investment in Aspiration came three months after his college roommate and the Clippers’ lone minority owner, Dennis Wong, invested approximately $2MM in the company after it failed to make a $1.75MM quarterly payment to Leonard, as reported by Torre. Leonard was paid nine days later, on the same day Aspiration laid off 20% of its workforce.

The NBA is investigating whether the Clippers and Leonard circumvented the salary cap through their deals with Aspiration.

Leonard’s contract had certain obligations he was supposed to meet but it also permitted him to refuse to do anything “not consistent with his beliefs,” according to Vorkunov. Former CEO and co-founder Andrei Cherny disputed that Leonard had a “no-show” deal,” Vorkunov adds.

However, Leonard’s contract drew “confusion and frustration” within the company, with one former top executive telling Vorkunov the deal “materialized essentially out of the ether.”

Another former Aspiration executive told Vorkunov that celebrity endorsers Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. both received less than $2MM in their deals.

Kawhi Leonard Received Endorsement Payment After Minority Owner Invested In Aspiration

September 11th, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers‘ lone minority owner made a nearly $2MM investment in Aspiration while the company was in dire straits. The San Francisco-based environmental firm then made a $1.75MM quarterly payment to Kawhi Leonard on the same day the company laid off 20 percent of its workforce, Pablo Torre reports on his latest “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast as relayed by The Athletic’s Joe Vardon.

It’s the latest development regarding the potential salary cap circumvention by the Clippers. Last week, Torre broke the story that Leonard signed a $28MM endorsement deal with the company, then performed no work after Aspiration received a $50MM investment from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. A subsequent report indicated that Aspiration agreed to pay Leonard an additional $20MM in company stock.

The NBA has hired a law firm to investigate the matter, and commissioner Adam Silver said on Wednesday that the burden of proof is on the league to find any wrongdoing by the Clippers.

Under the terms of the endorsement deal, Leonard was to be paid $1.75MM on a quarterly basis for four years. In December 2022, Clippers minority owner and vice chairman Dennis J. Wong made an investment of almost $2MM in Aspiration despite the fact that its independent auditor, KPMG, had resigned, and the company was already facing lawsuits worth millions for missed payments.

Aspiration missed a payment to Leonard in the fall before paying him in December, following Wong’s wire transfer to the firm, according to documents obtained by Torre. Payments to Leonard were marked as “critical.”

Leonard’s uncle and business manager Dennis Robertson had repeatedly contacted the company about the missed payment.

“There’s a huge freeze because there’s no money to be spent. So from the finance team’s perspective, we feel like we’re on the other end of collections calls. People are constantly coming in asking for their money. Between those months when all of this is missing – so September, October, November, and leading up to December, the actual certainty of the company even existing is up for grabs,” a former Aspiration employee told Torre. “At that point, are we gonna get paid as employees? Why does Uncle Dennis keep calling us? We have such bigger concerns that we’re thinking about, which is our own salaries. Are we gonna have to go through layoffs? Where is the money gonna come from? But lo and behold. Uncle Dennis gets paid.”

The Clippers issued a statement to Torre, which read, “The details of our relationship with Aspiration are under NBA investigation, but it is clear the company was a house of cards that defrauded Steve and many others. We look forward to sharing the facts with the league and providing them with all the information they need.”

Adam Silver: Burden Of Proof Is On League In Clippers Investigation

September 10th, 2025 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Commissioner Adam Silver said investigators will carry the burden of proof in the NBA’s probe of potential salary cap circumvention by the Clippers, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at his annual preseason news conference following the conclusion of the Board of Governors meeting, Silver said the league needs to focus on “the totality of the evidence” rather than the “mere appearance” of impropriety.

“The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league,” Silver told reporters. “I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges.”

The NBA hired a law firm this week to handle the investigation of whether owner Steve Ballmer and the team violated league rules through Kawhi Leonard‘s $28MM “no-show” job with Aspiration. Ballmer was an investor in the green banking company, which has since gone bankrupt.

Sources told Bontemps that Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz plans to conduct a thorough investigation, and no firm deadline has been set to reach a conclusion.

Silver added that he’s “a big believer in due process and fairness,” and said other NBA owners feel the same way about the case.

“At least what’s being said to me is a reservation of judgment,” Silver said. “I think people recognize that that’s what you have a league office for. That’s what you have a commissioner for — someone who is independent of the teams. On one hand, of course, I work collectively for the 30 governors, but I have an independent obligation to be the steward of the brand and the integrity of this league. … To the extent we have had discussions (with the board of governors) — they’ve been limited — we communicated to them that we engaged Wachtell to do this investigation. And maybe I cut off any further conversations and said, ‘Let’s all withhold judgment, let’s do this investigation and then we will come back to you in terms of our findings.'”

Silver addressed a few other topics in today’s news conference:

He confirmed the new All-Star Game format, which will feature two teams of American-born players and one international team in a round-robin competition. Silver expressed hope that the new approach will help to motivate the players. “I think in the case of the NBA, this is what I’m trying to convey, particularly to younger players, is that All-Star is a big deal,” he said. “There’s been great traditions out there. People have great memories of these All-Star Games. It’s part of the fabric of this league, the excitement that comes from it and the engagement from our players.”
Discussions are continuing on a potential new NBA-run European league, and Silver said he and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum traveled this summer to Europe, where they met with stakeholders. Silver also denied speculation that the venture in Europe will replace NBA expansion efforts. He called them “completely different entities” and said expansion was discussed at the board meeting, although there’s nothing new to report. “Part of the difficulty in potentially assessing it is a sense of long-term value of the league, and a little bit maybe it’s a high-class problem, but as with some of the recent jumps in franchise valuations, that sort of creates some confusion in the marketplace about how you might even price an expansion franchise,” Silver said. “I’ll only say it’s something that we continue to actively look at.”
Silver refused to say if there are any limitations on Malik Beasley‘s availability while the league investigates his role in a gambling scandal. “I’ll only say there that the investigation is ongoing,” Silver said. “As I understand it, there’s still a federal investigation that’s ongoing of Malik Beasley as well. We will address whatever is presented to us in his case.”

Latest On Kawhi Leonard, Clippers

September 9th, 2025 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star (subscription required) has added another fascinating detail to the Kawhi Leonard/Clippers saga, reporting that when the Raptors were negotiating with Leonard in 2019’s free agent period, his camp asked the team for an arrangement that lines up with the deal the star forward eventually got with the company Aspiration. According to Arthur, the demands made by Leonard’s uncle and representative, Dennis Robertson, included $10MM per year in extra sponsorship income.

The Raptors weren’t permitted to negotiate or have any involvement in those off-court sponsorship deals, but suggested there would be corporate sponsors eager to have Leonard as a promoter. However, they were told by Leonard’s camp that he didn’t want to have to do anything for that extra money, such as filming advertisements or making promotional appearances.

“That’s when the Raptors realized Leonard wasn’t asking to be introduced to Toronto’s lucrative corporate community,” Arthur writes. “They were being asked to arrange no-show jobs, and arrange no-investment investments. (They) rejected both proposals.”

Arthur previously reported that Leonard’s camp asked for a stake in the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, who share an ownership group with the Raptors.

Leonard and the Clippers are being investigated by the NBA after reports indicated that Aspiration – a Clippers sponsor that received a $50MM investment from team owner Steve Ballmer – agreed to pay the two-time Finals MVP $28MM, plus an additional $20MM in company stock.

While it was ostensibly an endorsement deal, Leonard wasn’t contractually obligated to actually do anything to earn that $28MM, which represented an unusually high amount for any sort of off-court sponsorship agreement. The league is looking into whether the Clippers were essentially funneling money to Leonard via Aspiration in order to circumvent the salary cap.

Here are a few more notes on the subject:

Appearing on NBA Today on Monday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Aspiration offered almost double the $550MM that Intuit did for the naming rights to the Clippers’ arena, but the Clippers opted to go with the more well-established brand. “That gives you an indication of the kind of money that (Aspiration) was throwing around back in those days,” Shelburne said.
During that same NBA Today segment (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said that a Clippers source likened a tampering violation to a speeding ticket and salary cap circumvention as a “murder charge,” the implication being that the team knows not to cross that red line. The team has conveyed that it is “welcoming” the NBA’s investigation into the matter, McMenamin adds.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores three potential outcomes of the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers and Leonard, ranging from the Clippers getting off scot-free to the organization (and Leonard) facing a Timberwolves/Joe Smith-style punishment. When the NBA learned in 2000 that the Timberwolves had entered into an illegal contract with Smith to circumvent the cap, it fined the organization $3.5MM, took away five first-round picks (two were later returned), and voided Smith’s contract.

NBA Hires Law Firm To Investigate Clippers, Leonard

September 6th, 2025 at 9:52am CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the allegations that the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard used an endorsement deal with fintech company Aspiration to circumvent the salary cap, a source tells Joe Vardon, Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

While the New York-based firm will lead the investigation, the NBA also has its own investigator who will serve as a consultant, according to The Athletic.

The NBA previously used Wachtell Lipton in a pair of high-profile investigations of ownership misconduct, per The Athletic’s trio, and both resulted in the owners selling the teams. The first case was back in 2014 with former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, and the second occurred in 2022 with ex-Suns owner Robert Sarver.

Wachtell Lipton was also recently employed by the Celtics as part of the team’s sale, Vardon, Amick and Vorkunov add.

On Wednesday, Pablo Torre reported that Leonard signed a $28MM endorsement deal with now-bankrupt Aspiration but performed no work for the company. A follow-up report from Boston Sports Journal stated that Leonard also made a side deal with Aspiration to receive an additional $20MM in company stock.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had previously made a $50MM investment in Aspiration — allegedly with “light-to-no diligence” — and at a higher share price than other investors.

Ballmer and the Clippers have denied any wrongdoing and have said they will fully cooperate with the investigation.

Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg pled guilty last month to two counts of wire fraud for a $248MM scheme to defraud lenders and investors.

If the investigation proves the salary cap was circumvented, the NBA has a wide range of possible sanctions it could impose on the Clippers, Ballmer and/or Leonard, the authors note.

In that scenario, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic argues that commissioner Adam Silver should levy severe penalties on the involved parties. However, Lloyd points out that there’s no specific burden of proof that needs to be reached, so there’s no guarantee the investigation will lead to said penalties.

Clippers Owner Denies Any Wrongdoing In Kawhi Leonard’s Deal With Aspiration

September 5th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer explained the origins of Kawhi Leonard‘s endorsement deal with Aspiration during an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Thursday night on SportsCenter, but he denied that the team did anything inappropriate to circumvent the salary cap.

During the 16-minute interview, Ballmer said the company asked him to provide an introduction to Leonard, which he did in November 2021, shortly after Leonard agreed to a four-year, $176MM contract with the team. Ballmer added that he didn’t have any knowledge of the terms of the endorsement contract that Leonard eventually signed and stated that he had no further role in that process.

Two months before that introduction, Aspiration reached a $300MM deal with the Clippers that included sponsorship in their new arena and a jersey patch. Ballmer told Shelburne that Aspiration was hoping to acquire naming rights for the arena and offered more money than Intuit, which was ultimately chosen.

“We were done. We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration. The deals were all locked and loaded,” Ballmer said. “Then, they did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved.”

Ballmer also detailed his involvement in a Department of Justice investigation into Aspiration, which filed for bankruptcy in March. Its list of creditors includes KL2 Aspire LLC, with Leonard named as the manager or member. The company owed $7MM to KL2 Aspire LLC.

Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg pleaded guilty in August to two counts of wire fraud for defrauding investors and lenders of more than $248 million.

“We even found the email that makes the first introduction. It was early November,” Ballmer said. “The introduction got made and then they were off to the races on, on their own. We weren’t involved. I eventually learned that they had reached a deal. I have no idea what the deal was.”

Ballmer added that he has no further knowledge of the arrangement between Leonard and Aspiration, which was brought to light in a report by Pablo Torre earlier this week claiming that it was a “no-show” deal and Leonard didn’t actually perform any services for the company.

“These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. They conned me,” Ballmer said. “I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”

Shelburne points out that there have been numerous allegations about Leonard’s dealings with the Clippers since he joined the team as a free agent in 2019. The NBA conducted an investigation into charges that he and his uncle, Dennis Robertson, made improper requests while negotiating with teams that summer. Those requests reportedly included part ownership of the team, use of a private plane, a house and guaranteed endorsement deals.

Shelburne adds that the Clippers were cleared of any wrongdoing, but the league indicated that it was willing to reopen the investigation if any new information came to light.

“They know the rules,” Ballmer said. “They meaning Kawhi and his representatives, including his uncle. We know the rules. And if anything’s not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are and we make absolutely clear we’re going to abide by those rules and they understand them as well. And it’s important for them to abide by them, which they have.”

Ballmer also stated that he hasn’t talked to Leonard about Torre’s accusations and he doesn’t plan to, per Law Murray of The Athletic.

“It’s really his business with Aspiration,” Ballmer said. “So I wouldn’t ask about it, no.”

The NBA has opened an investigation into the Clippers’ and Leonard’s dealings with Aspiration, and Ballmer suggested that he welcomes the probe, telling Shelburne that if a similar story had surfaced about another team and its star player, he’d want the league to “investigate (and) take it seriously.”

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