For months, a $28 million deal cast a shadow over the LA Clippers. The NBA investigated whether Steve Ballmer and the franchise used Aspiration to secretly funnel money to Kawhi Leonard and evade the salary cap. Now, that cloud appears to be lifting. ESPN has reported that the league found no evidence of wrongdoing by Ballmer. With the latest developments surrounding the probe, the Clippers have seized the moment to deliver a pointed message.

However, the NBA has pushed back on ESPN’s reporting surrounding the investigation. NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said ESPN’s article contains “numerous and significant inaccuracies” and noted that the league declined to cooperate with ESPN’s investigation.

“The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded,” Bass said.

In their message, the Clippers wrote that they introduced “players, including Kawhi Leonard, to companies with which we had business relationships. Making introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives.”

They went on, “From there, Kawhi and his representatives handled their own negotiations. The Clippers did not negotiate or dictate the terms of Kawhi’s endorsement agreements or determine what he would be paid.”

Kawhi Leonard’s former team also claimed, “Our commercial relationships stood on their own merits.” According to the Clippers organization, they made their business decisions for legitimate reasons. Moreover, they selected partners based on value, quality, and their ability to meet the team’s business needs. Most importantly, the team rejects any suggestion that it inflated payments or offered special deals to create a secret financial path to Leonard.

“The fact that a player has an endorsement relationship with a company that also does business with his team is not evidence of salary cap circumvention,” they further emphasized. “After nearly a year of scrutiny, the central fact remains true and unchanged: the Clippers did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard, arrange for others to compensate him on our behalf, or otherwise provide him with undisclosed compensation outside of his NBA contract.”

Simply put, the Los Angeles Clippers clarified that their partnership followed legitimate business reasons. They also denied manipulating deals, overpaying companies, or secretly compensating Leonard, arguing that such relationships do not prove salary cap circumvention.

Steve Ballmer gets relief as NBA pushes back on ESPN report

ESPN has reported that the NBA found no proof that Steve Ballmer secretly routed sponsor money to Kawhi Leonard. However, the league is examining whether the Clippers crossed a line by connecting Leonard with team partners. Officials are also considering whether the organization failed to properly monitor those interactions, although any potential punishment remains unclear.

The 11-month probe grew beyond Aspiration. Investigators reviewed relationships involving Daktronics and Boingo Wireless too. In September 2025, Pablo Torre reported that Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration through his LLC in September 2021. That same month, the Clippers agreed to a $300 million partnership with the company. Reports say Aspiration later gave Leonard a $28 million endorsement deal in April 2022.

For now, Steve Ballmer found some relief, and the Clippers also issued their message. However, Kawhi Leonard has all eyes on him as controversies of salary-cap circumvention continue to hover around him.