Celebrities At The Los Angeles Clippers Game INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: Steve Ballmer attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors at Intuit Dome on April 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Celebrities At The Los Angeles Clippers Game INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: Steve Ballmer attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors at Intuit Dome on April 15, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
Pablo Torre, the sports investigator who first broke the allegations that led the NBA to unveil the Clippers’ salary cap circumvention schemes, has now responded after a new report claimed the Department of Justice (DoJ) has opened an inquiry into dealings between Kawhi Leonard, Steve Ballmer, and the team.
“Okay, so some significant news that I have been anticipating has happened tonight. The New York Times has reported the Department of Justice has started a criminal investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers and the allegations that they created this whole web, this scheme of getting secret sponsorship deals for Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap.”
“The reason I have been anticipating this is because of what I’ve been constantly saying on the show: the primary explanation for why Steve Ballmer would not want to concede anything, in terms of an admission of any kind, or any kind of guilt in the CBA-NBA cap circumvention settlement negotiations, is every other thing happening to him in the real world,” Pablo Torre explained.
“There is a civil suit brought by 11 Aspiration investors that’s happening right now in Los Angeles. There is an SEC probe into Aspiration, which is ongoing, and an SEC probe into Daktronics that has now officially requested information from the company, according to their CFO, hours before the NBA released their report.”
Torre then explained that in 2023, the DoJ was already aware of complaints about the Clippers’ cap circumvention in the NBA, as Aspiration employees had spoken up under threat of perjury.
Moreover, Torre claimed that the Clippers’ alternate Governor, Dennis Wong, the Clippers’ only co-owner with Steve Ballmer, owns 1% of the team. Wong, an alleged investor in Aspiration, has also been suspended by the league. He is expected to be a pivotal figure in the federal investigations.
“This is now a criminal investigation. At least one subpoena has been issued, according to the New York Times. There is a lot more, and we will continue to cover it, as the NBA and the Sports court, and podcast court, and now real life court continue to take us on a ride that is not over yet,” Torre concluded.
According to the New York Times article that initially broke the news about this investigation, Steve Ballmer and the Clippers are still torn about how to proceed.
“The Clippers and Mr. Ballmer are still trying to figure out how to respond to the punishments from the N.B.A. Among the potential moves they are considering is filing a lawsuit against the league and asking a judge to issue a restraining order, the two people said.”
“The people briefed on the matter cautioned that it was uncertain whether the investigation would lead to criminal charges, or even result in evidence being presented to a grand jury. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation,” the report stated.
All eyes are now on Steve Ballmer as his next step could decide the future of his association with the Clippers and the NBA. If he locks horns with the league in a lawsuit, the Board of Governors could forcibly strip him of ownership privileges with the Clippers.
So it will certainly be interesting to see how Steve Ballmer and the Clippers proceed from here, as potential criminal charges could be looming over their heads.