Nine months since the salary cap circumvention scandal emerged, the NBA has yet to announce the result of the investigation.
Addressing the media ahead of the 2026 NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stressed that the ongoing investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap needs to reach "finality."
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard
MIN: 32.2
PTS: 27.79 (60.06%)
REB: 6.35
AS: 3.59
ST: 1.83
BL: 0.41
TO: 2.09
GM: 66
"My instruction to them is that we can’t be investigating forever," Silver said. "At some point, we have to wrap it up, but the most important thing is that we get it right."
While they are also conducting their own investigation, the league also tapped law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz into the Clippers' salary cap scandal. But nine months since the case was first presented by journalist Pablo Torre, there is still no clear resolution being released.
The investigation centers on Kawhi Leonard’s four-year, $28 million endorsement agreement with bankrupt fintech company Aspiration back in 2022, which allegedly involved a “no-show job” arranged through Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the Clippers to bypass the salary cap.
The ongoing probe earned a significant element after Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding investors.
"I don’t have a specific timeline for completion. They are far along, and from what I’m hearing, they’re actively conducting interviews and gathering information. At some point, you could keep going indefinitely, but we’re approaching the point where this needs to be wrapped up," Silver added.
"Finality matters—the team needs to understand the situation they’ll be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams. That’s where things currently stand.
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