The NBA is investigating possible ties between Kawhi Leonard, Steve Ballmer, and the fraudulent tree-planting company Aspiration. While nobody but Kawhi and the Clippers can say with certainty what happened, GMs and executives across the league are not convinced of their innocence in the alleged scheme.
"Many of their competitors believe there’s a real reason for the Clippers, and Leonard, to be concerned here. Rival executives made one thing abundantly clear: 'No, this is not the norm,'" wrote The Athletic's Sam Amick. "For starters, the combination of Ballmer’s significant investment in a team sponsor and Leonard’s curious contract was reason enough to put them in harm’s way with the league."
There was a growing sentiment in the community that backdoor deals and secret, unspoken payments are the norm for teams when it comes to star players, but it turns out that endorsement deals such as the one between Kawhi and Aspiration are anything but normal.
“This (sort of endorsement deal) does not happen,” one long-tenured general manager told Amick. "I've never seen it."
The details of the Aspiration endorsement are highly suspicious. For one, the payout is massive for Kawhi, worth at least $28 million, with some reports claiming as high as $50 million. There's also the fact that Leonard has never promoted or marketed the brand, unlike his endorsement with Nike, which has involved commercials for just five million per year.
That's not to mention the special clause in Kawhi's Aspiration contract, which stipulates that he can only get paid as long as he's a member of the Clippers. The whole thing is quite bizarre and only becomes worse with the testimony of former Aspiration employees who have confirmed that the deal was only arranged as a way for Ballmer to pay Leonard off the books.
The Clippers claim that they had no prior knowledge of Kawhi's deal with Aspiration and that it was made entirely independent of their organization. They also claim that it's not uncommon for sponsors to have endorsement deals with players on the same team. What they have yet to mention is Steve Ballmer's role, who invested $50 million in the company three months before Kawhi's extension in 2022.
In their investigation, the NBA will be looking for proof that the team was directly involved in the process. That will be the first step in uncovering a potential scheme to circumvent the cap. Of course, the Clippers have stated from the very beginning that they could disprove these claims, and they've put on a convincing portrayal of ignorance and innocence.
Nobody knows when the truth will come out on this story, but the Clippers' future is on the line here. While Steve Ballmer won't be heavily impacted personally, this could do major damage to the franchise. Beyond just their reputation and likability as a team, they could lose draft picks, have Kawhi Leonard's contract voided, or be forced to undergo serious leadership changes.
At this point, the burden of proof is on the Clippers, and the NBA may already have enough to hand down a penalty. If they have proof like they claim, it shouldn't take long to settle the matter, but it will only look worse for them if it turns out they've been lying and cheating the whole time.