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Adam Silver says ‘no contemplation’ of moving All-Star Game out of L.A. due to Kawhi Leonard investigation

The 2026 NBA All-Star game is coming to the Clippers†new home, the Intuit Dome, and the NBAâ€s ongoing investigation into possible salary cap circumvention by the team to get more money to Kawhi Leonard is not going to change that, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

“Thereâ€s no contemplation of moving the All-Star Game,†Silver said Monday, while at the NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, to discuss the networkâ€s return to broadcasting NBA games (including the All-Star Game). “Planning for the All-Star Game and the surrounding activities are operating completely independently of the ongoing investigation.â€

This shouldnâ€t be a surprise. The NBAâ€s All-Star Game is a massive production and undertaking that goes well beyond just the on-court games and showcases. Players and league sponsors plan events and parties, hotels and venues are booked, and fans plan trips to the host city around the All-Star events. To rip that up and move a game less than five months out would be an impossible task. The NBA did move the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte in reaction to the “bathroom law†in North Carolina; however, it made that move in the previous summer (the league returned to Charlotte with the game two years later, in 2019).

The league is investigating an alleged “no-show†endorsement contract Leonard had with a Clippers sponsor, a company called Aspiration, that team owner Steve Ballmer had invested in multiple times. Aspiration also became a team sponsor and the Clippers bought environmental credits from the company — that was Aspirationâ€s “business†— for the Intuit Dome. The relationship between the Clippers and the sponsor fell apart in 2023 (although not before minority owner Dennis Wong made a $2 million investment in Aspiration, just before Leonard received one of his $1.75 million endorsement payments). Aspiration has since filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO pled guilty to defrauding investors.

At the heart of the allegations — first uncovered by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast — is that Leonard did no work or marketing for Aspiration yet got a $48 million endorsement deal ($20 million in now-worthless stock). People with Aspiration told the podcast that this deal was about circumventing the salary cap. Both Leonard and the Clippers have maintained their innocence, saying they were duped and defrauded like other investors, and that they welcome the leagueâ€s investigation.

There is no timeline for when that investigation will be complete, but it will not stop the All-Star Game from coming to the Intuit Dome.

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NBA won’t move All-Star Game from Intuit Dome amid Clippers, Kawhi Leonard investigation

The NBA All-Star Game wonâ€t be moved this season despite the leagueâ€s investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed Monday the All-Star weekend festivities this season will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, as planned in February.

“Thereâ€s no contemplation of moving the All-Star Game, and planning for the All-Star Game and the surrounding activities are operating completely independently of the ongoing investigation,†Silver said, via the Associated Press.

The Clippers officially moved into the Intuit Dome last season after years of sharing Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles with the Lakers, the WNBAâ€s Sparks and the NHLâ€s Kings. The Intuit Dome, which sits next to both SoFi Stadium and The Forum in Inglewood, will also host basketball during the 2028 Olympics.

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There has been speculation about the All-Star Game being moved away from the Intuit Dome in recent weeks after journalist Pablo Torre broke a story about allegations of salary cap circumvention with star Kawhi Leonard. Leonard allegedly signed a $28 million contract with tree-planting nonprofit Aspiration for what was essentially a “no-show†job. That company was allegedly funded by Ballmer and the Clippers.

Ballmer has said he was “defrauded†by Aspiration, which has since gone bankrupt, but Torre reported that Ballmer continued to donate to the organization well after Aspiration started showing red flags.

The league has since launched an investigation into the scandal, though Silver said that it would need “clear evidence†that the Clippers violated its rules in order to take action against the team. The league can issue significant punishments if it finds that the Clippers violated its salary cap rules, including fines, voiding contracts or even the loss of draft picks.

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Leonard, who joined the Clippers ahead of the 2019-2020 campaign, averaged 21.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. He dismissed the allegations when he was asked about them at the teamâ€s media day last month.

“I donâ€t read headlines or do conspiracy theories or anything like that,†he said. “Itâ€s about the season and what weâ€ve got ahead of us right now. The NBA is going to do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing. Thatâ€s it.â€

The NBAâ€s All-Star weekend is set to take place from Feb. 14-16, 2026.

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Kawhi Leonard says allegations of no-show deal not accurate

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    Ramona ShelburneSep 29, 2025, 06:42 PM ET

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    • Senior writer for ESPN.com
    • Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard said he doesn’t “think it’s accurate” that he performed no services for Aspiration, the now-bankrupt green banking company and LA Clippers team sponsor with which he signed a lucrative endorsement contract.

“I understand the full contract and the services that I had to do. I don’t deal with the conspiracies or the clickbait analysts or journalism that’s going on,” Leonard said Monday in his first public comments about the scandal, first reported by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.

Asked specifically by ESPN if he ever performed services for what Torre reported was a four-year, $28 million contract, Leonard said, “I don’t think it’s accurate. But it’s old. This is all new to you guys. The company went bankrupt a while ago.”

The NBA has launched an investigation into whether Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the team violated league rules or circumvented the league’s salary cap because Ballmer and minority owner Dennis Wong were both investors in the company.

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Earlier this month, Ballmer told ESPN that he introduced Leonard and Aspiration in November of 2021, three months after the Clippers had agreed to a four-year, $173 million extension with Leonard, who had torn a knee ligament during the team’s first Western Conference finals run.

Two months earlier, in September 2021, the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with Aspiration, which included sponsorship in the team’s new arena and on its jersey patch.

NBA rules do not prohibit teams from introducing team sponsors or companies to players. But teams can’t be involved in subsequent negotiations.

Ballmer told ESPN that he did not know the details of the endorsement contract that Leonard agreed to with Aspiration. The Boston Sports Journal and Torre have subsequently reported that Leonard was also awarded $20 million in company stock.

Leonard was listed among Aspiration’s biggest creditors in bankruptcy documents. On Monday at Clippers media day, ESPN asked Leonard how much of that contract he was actually paid, as he was listed as being owed $7 million.

“I’m not sure, I’ve got to look back at the books. It was more than that for sure,” Leonard said. Asked if he collected what he was owed by Aspiration, Leonard said, “No, but the company went belly-up. It was fraud, as everybody knows. If you want to know more details about that company, you need to ask that company or the owner or whoever else is involved.”

In his interview with ESPN, Ballmer also said that he could not explain why Aspiration would pay Leonard such a lucrative endorsement deal.

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

Leonard said Monday that he welcomes the NBA investigation and is confident its findings will exonerate him.

“The NBA is going to do their job,” Leonard said. “None of us did no wrongdoing. That’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”

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Defiant Kawhi Leonard on allegations: ‘None of us did no wrongdoing… We invite the investigation’

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Hours after the latest allegations dropped in the Kawhi Leonard “no-show†endorsement scandal that has become the talk of the NBA, Leonard himself was defiant during Clippers media day.

“I mean, the NBA is going to do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing,†Leonard said. “And, yeah, I mean, thatâ€s it. We invite the investigation…

“I understand that full contract and the services that I had to do. Like I said, I donâ€t deal with the conspiracies or the clickbait analysts or journalism thatâ€s going on.â€

Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank echoed Leonardâ€s comments, saying during his remarks that, “we feel very, very confident weâ€re on the right side of this.â€

The core of the allegations, first reported by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, are that the team circumvented the salary cap to get more money to Leonard through a team sponsor. In 2021, Clippers owner Ballmer invested $50 million in the “green bank†company Aspiration. Within 18 months, the Clippers purchased $100 million in those green credits as part of Ballmerâ€s effort to make the Clippers†new home, the Intuit Dome, carbon neutral. Aspiration became a $300 million sponsor of the Clippers team in 2021.

About that time, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration (he also eventually was given another $20 million in company stock, which is now worthless). The salary cap circumvention case centers on the idea that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration as an endorser that can be seen publicly, leading to accusations that this was a “no-show†endorsement. The argument is that it was a way to funnel extra money to Leonard through a dying company. Aspiration is now bankrupt, and its CEO, Sanberg, has pled guilty to $248 million in fraud. Ballmer has maintained his innocence, saying he was “duped†like other investors, and that the Clippers ended their team sponsor relationship with Aspiration after it defaulted on its obligations.

Leonard pushed back on the allegation that he did nothing for Aspiration, that this was essentially a “no-show†contract.

“I donâ€t think thatâ€s accurate, but itâ€s old,†Leonard said. “This is all new to you guys. The company went bankrupt a while ago, so we already knew this was going to happen.†Leonard, however, did not detail what he did for Aspiration.

Clippers president Frank opened his remarks with a statement that continued the Clippers†claim that it is innocent in all this and that they would ultimately be proven innocent.

“We are glad thereâ€s an investigation, and we welcome it,†Frank said. “We appreciate that thereâ€ll be a clear-eyed look at these allegations, and weâ€re eager for the truth to come out. The assumptions and conclusions that have been made are disappointing and upsetting, and we expect the investigation will show that these allegations are wrong.

“Iâ€m hurt for Steve [Ballmer]. Heâ€s one of the best people and most honorable people Iâ€ve ever met. He does things the right way for the right reasons, and he constantly reminds us to stay on the right side of the rules. Iâ€m also hurt for our players, our staff, and fans…

“The accusations made against us are serious, and they donâ€t line up with my experience, my reality. We will cooperate with this investigation and let this process play out. But we are eager for the whole truth, the whole picture, to be revealed. Weâ€re very confident in what it will show.â€

Frank dodged a question about whether Leonardâ€s uncle and business manager, Dennis Robertson (commonly referred to as “Uncle Dennisâ€) had asked him for improper gifts when he signed with the team in 2019. Representatives of the Raptors and Lakers have said he did with them, even asking for a piece of the team. “Dennis knows the rules. Kawhi knows the rules,†was Frankâ€s pat response.

Frank and Leonard agreed on something else — that this would not be a distraction for the Clippers.

“I donâ€t read headlines. I donâ€t do conspiracies, theories or anything like that,†Leonard said. “Itâ€s about the season and what we got ahead of us right now. And, yeah, tomorrow weâ€ll start camp and see what we got.â€

“I think one is you acknowledge it…” Frank said of the allegations. “They know that weâ€re, weâ€re very confident that weâ€re on the right side of things. And then you just focus on what you can control. I mean, if youâ€re looking for a distraction, you can find one, right? I think what makes athletes so special is their ability just to focus on things they can control.â€

A veteran team like the Clippers might be able to put the distraction aside and focus on the game, but the allegations and the leagueâ€s investigation are not going away.

Neither are the questions.

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