Clippers Issue Official Statement on Kawhi Leonard After Allegations Involving Owner Steve Ballmer

The $28 million contract expose continues to unravel. Pablo Torre revealed an alleged third-party agreement from Steve Ballmer to Kawhi Leonard, which is outside the scope of the CBA. “We are aware of this morning’s media report regarding the LA Clippers and are commencing an investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Wednesday. For hours, all the parties were silent, but now one of them has spoken. Let us remind you that this is not the first time that questions have been raised about this deal.

“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap!” The Clippers’ statement made sure to deny any allegations. “The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration’s co-founders presented themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting the environment.” If Torre had hard evidence against the team, Ballmer and Leonard, then the team’s statement is equally hard to deny any such claims.

It all started when, on a recent episode of his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, he said he found multiple evidence tying Leonard to an “allegedly fraudulent” tree-planting firm, Aspiration. The kicker was that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer backed it! Later, he also revealed that a $28 million payment to KL2 Aspire LLC, owned by Leonard, was major proof. But the franchise called out Aspiration and its owner for defrauding Ballmer. The Clippers further proceeded that the contract with Aspiration, which was the team sponsor from the 2021 to 2023 seasons, was “nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team.”

After the NBA issued the statement to pursue the investigation, the Clippers made sure to issue their statement that would help the league clear the name of their owner. “Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi ‘s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong. The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league’s rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation into Aspiration’s blatantly fraudulent activity.”

The journalist further reported that Kawhi Leonard never marketed Aspiration despite the major investment, unlike other celebrities associated with it. In fact, one of the anonymous employees, through Pablo Torre, expressed that they never saw Leonard promoted because the contract between them stated it was a “no-show job.” Back in 2019, the league already launched its own inquiry to check whether the Clippers had secured Leonard by “sweetening their offer.” However, the investigation revealed no such proof. But now there is, and a lot of it!

The Lakers saved themselves from embarrassment thanks to shrewd Jenny Buss’ refusal to Kawhi Leonard

Let’s make the rules clear. Article XIII of the CBA serves as the league’s strict anti-circumvention rule. It bars teams from compensating players outside their contracts, including hidden side deals or alternate roles. Furthermore, the rule bans secretly bypassing the salary cap. In 2019, the NBA had to start an investigation since many unverified reports alleged that Kawhi Leonard’s uncle and advisor, Dennis Robertson, would be a benefactor, financially or in any other form, in exchange for his nephew’s commitment.

Once Pablo Torre came out with this report, the internet did its thing and brought back Leonard, and his uncle reportedly made some insane demands to the Lakers. Before the Clippers secured the deal, Jeanie Buss was very much interested in adding the 2x NBA champion to the squad. But the deal did not go through due to demands from Robertson, which The Athletic‘s Sam Amick reported.

“Sources say the league was told that Robertson asked team officials for part ownership of the team, a private plane that would be available at all times, a house, and — last but certainly not least — a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money that they could expect if Leonard played for their team. All of those items, to be clear, would fall well outside the confines of the league’s collective bargaining agreement”.

Robertson even called Buss three times to convince the Lakers to push the deal over the line. But that was not the case, and “she (Jeanie Buss) made it clear that such perks were illegal and would not be considered.” The nature of this deal puts a huge strain on the league’s image, as this season, the new media rights deal, valued at $75 billion, begins. That’s why now the spotlight is on Adam Silver and his final verdict.