The LA Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer reportedly have been accused of circumventing the NBA’s salary cap by paying $28 million to Kawhi Leonard for a “no-show job.”
Pablo Torre, a podcaster and former ESPN contributor, reported Wednesday that the Clippers paid Leonard through a now-bankrupt company owned by Ballmer.
In the latest episode of his “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast, Torre cited a trove of internal documents from the tree-planting company Aspiration, which Ballmer partially funded with a $50 million investment through his personal LLC in Sept. 14 2021.
Later that month, on Sept. 27, 2021, the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with the now-bankrupt Aspiration, including sponsorship in the team’s new arena and on the team’s jersey patch.
According to Torre, Leonard agreed to a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal in April 2022 through his LLC, KL2 Aspire. The endorsement deal came nine months after Leonard signed a four-year, $176.3 million contract to remain with the Clippers — the maximum allowed at the time under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
A clause in one of the documents purportedly obtained by Torre states that the deal between Aspiration and KL2 Aspire would be voided if Leonard left the Clippers. According to Torre, Leonard also could “decline to proceed with any action desired” by Aspiration and continue to get paid.
An unnamed employee who purportedly worked for Aspiration told Torre that the payment to Leonard “was to circumvent the salary cap.”
Kawhi Leonard agreed to a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspire in April 2022 — nine months after signing a four-year, $176.3 million contract with the Clippers — the maximum allowed at the time under the collective bargaining agreement. Associated Press
“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary-cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” the Clippers said. “Any contrary assertion is provably false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation. The team and Mr. Ballmer stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way they can.”
The NBA did not immediately respond to ESPN’s request for comment on Torre’s allegations.
Under the circumvention rules of the NBA’s 2023 collective bargaining agreement, teams can be punished for circumventing the league’s salary cap. Penalties can include fines up to $7.5 million, direct forfeiture of draft picks, voiding any player contract and a suspension — up to a year — for any team personnel who was found to have engaged in such a violation.
In 2000, it was discovered that the Minnesota Timberwolves engaged in an illegal secret agreement with Joe Smith by allegedly promising to pay him a future multi-million deal if he signed with the team on a shorter contract for less money.
The NBA penalized the Timberwolves by removing five first-found draft picks, fining the team $3.5 million and banning head coach Kevin McHale and owner Glen Taylor for a season, along with voiding the contracts for Smith.
The NBA fined the Clippers $50,000 in May 2019 for violating tampering rules after then-Clippers head coach Doc Rivers made public remarks comparing Leonard, who was then with the Toronto Raptors, to Michael Jordan.
The NBA investigated the Clippers after allegations emerged that Leonard and his camp, led by his uncle Dennis Robertson, made improper requests of teams during his free agency in the summer of 2019. Such requests, The Athletic reported at the time, included part ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house and guaranteed off-court endorsement money.
The NBA again fined the Clippers $50,000 in November 2019 for comments that Rivers made that “were inconsistent” with Leonard’s health.
The NBA investigated allegations involving the Clippers’ free-agent pursuit of Leonard following a Dec. 2020 lawsuit filed by a man named Johnny Wilkes, who alleged that he helped the Clippers acquire Leonard in exchange for a $2.5 million payment from Clippers consultant Jerry West. The Clippers denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was dismissed. No penalty was issued by the league.
Leonard, 34, most recently signed a three-year, $153 million deal in January 2024 to remain under contract with the Clippers through the 2026-27 season.
The Clippers also are fighting a 2024 civil lawsuit by former strength and conditioning coach Randy Shelton who sued the team and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, alleging wrongful termination in part for raising concerns about the management of Leonard’s health and injuries.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks contributed to this report.
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