The Los Angeles Clippers are offering a rebuttal to a story claiming they participated in salary cap avoidance involving star player Kawhi Leonard. The claim originated from a legal document submitted in March 2025 by Aspiration, a now-defunct eco-friendly company that had previously secured $50 million in investments from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
According to reporter Pablo Torre, Aspiration was slated to compensate Leonard with $28 million in monetary funds from 2022 to 2025, contingent on his continued presence on the Clippers roster. An ex-employee from Aspiration’s financial division stated on Torre’s podcast that Leonard’s arrangement “was designed to go around the salary cap.”
In response, the Clippers issued a statement on Wednesday evening refuting the allegations.
“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer sidestepped the salary cap,” the Clippers asserted in their statement. “The suggestion that Steve invested in Aspiration as a means to channel funds to Kawhi Leonard is preposterous. Steve’s investment was motivated by Aspiration’s co-founders presenting themselves as dedicated to ethical consumer practices and environmental stewardship.”
Kawhi Leonard’s contract situation: Clippers and Steve Ballmer face accusations of $28 million NBA salary cap violation
Sam Quinn
The team’s statement clarified that neither Ballmer nor the Clippers organization possessed knowledge of any inappropriate actions by Aspiration or its leadership until a government investigation commenced. Aspiration, who served as the team’s sponsor during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before breaching their contract, declared bankruptcy this past March. Joseph Sanberg, a co-founder, is currently entangled in a $243 million fraud case.
The Clippers emphasized that Ballmer and the team had no control over Leonard’s separate endorsement agreement with Aspiration.
“Any claim to the contrary is simply false,” the statement affirmed.
The Clippers expressed their readiness to cooperate with the NBA’s inquiry into Aspiration and will extend their cooperation to law enforcement in their probe into Aspiration’s “blatantly fraudulent practices.”
The NBA stated via a spokesperson on Wednesday afternoon that they are “aware of the media reports circulating this morning concerning the LA Clippers” and will be “initiating a formal investigation.”
