Kawhi Leonard, the star forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, recently re-upped his commitment to Los Angeles with a three-year, $153 million deal. This contract, signed and completed in January 2024, means Leonard stays a Clipper for at least the 2026-27 season. While the circumstances around the payment method are suspicious, the bigger issue is that she’s facing allegations of salary cap circumvention.
The controversy focuses on $2 million in payments received by Leonard via a company that is owned by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. This banking alternative, Aspiration, known best for their environmental tree-planting service, has claimed to file for bankruptcy. An anonymous employee at Aspiration has suggested that the payments to Leonard were meant “to avoid the salary cap. This allegation has naturally led to increased scrutiny over Ballmer and the Clippers organization as a whole.
The Clippers and Ballmer have now all publicly denied any wrongdoing, claiming there is no misconduct as it relates to Aspiration. They maintain that the allegations are unfounded.
“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.” – The Clippers
Leonard, now 34, hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing himself. According to reports, for example, Ballmer never required Leonard to perform marketing or promotional activities on behalf of Aspiration. This reality makes the narrative surrounding the payments complicated.
Pablo Torre, former ESPN contributor and star of the wildly popular Pablo Torre Finds Stuff Out podcast, has been leading the charge in reporting these allegations. He noted that legally binding documents regarding Aspiration have surfaced. These records would provide a window into any financial deal Leonard struck with the company.
The Clippers are currently making every effort to separate themselves from these accusations. In the interim, investigators are watching Leonard’s contract like hawks to make a wholly uncharacteristic attempt to check it for NBA collusion. The league had the ability to strictly enforce and monitor salary caps and player payments. Breaking these unwritten codes can lead to extreme punishment for the transgressing squad.
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