The Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer are accused of paying star Kawhi Leonard $28 million for a “no-show job” as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap, according to a report by Pablo Torre.
Torre laid out the alleged scandal on his program, “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” on Wednesday. The show — which features plenty of direct quotes from legal documents — made the argument Leonard was paid $28 million through a company owned by Ballmer to essentially do nothing. Ballmer is accused of using the agreement as a way to pay Leonard more than his contract, which — if true — is a violation of NBA rules.
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The entire situation revolves around a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration, a tree-planting service funded by Ballmer. Aspiration entered a $28 million legal agreement with KL2 Aspire, LLC, a company owned by Leonard.
Torre attempted to find any evidence that Leonard ever marketed for or endorsed the company, but came up empty. A clause in one of the contract documents between Aspiration and KL2 Aspire LLC stated Leonard could “decline to proceed with any action desired by the Company,” essentially giving Leonard the ability to get paid without doing anything. Another clause stated Leonard would only be paid if he remained a member of the Clippers.
Payments from Aspiration to KL2 Aspire LLC were sent to Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s advisor who was investigated by the NBA in 2019 for asking for impermissible benefits. The NBA completed that investigation into Robertson — also known as Uncle Dennis — and found no evidence the Clippers granted illegal benefits to Leonard while pursuing him in free agency.
Torre spoke to a handful of former Aspiration employees about the situation, one of which agreed to do an interview with a voice modifier. That employee claimed they were told the agreement between Aspiration and Leonard was done to “circumvent the salary cap.”
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The entire alleged scandal was summed up by Torre’s show in a four-and-a-half minute video.
The Clippers responded to those allegations by sending the following quote to Torre:
“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”
At the time of the 2019 investigation into Robertson, sources told Sam Amick of The Athletic that while no evidence of illegal benefits was found, NBA commissioner Adam Silver considers the issue “a cardinal sin of the NBA” and that the league would re-open its investigation into the situation if more evidence came to light.
The NBA has not issued a statement on Torre’s report at this time.
Leonard originally joined the Clippers on a three-year, $104 million deal in 2019. He re-upped with the team on a four-year, $176 million extension in 2021 and then signed a three-year, $149 million extension with the team in 2024.
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This story will be updated.
