The Kawhi Leonard–Aspiration controversy has already become one of the most explosive stories in recent NBA history. But now, a former Los Angeles Clippers official has added fuel to the fire, suggesting the team wasn’t blindsided by Leonard’s alleged “no-show” endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt environmental company.
On the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Torre shared a statement he obtained from the ex-Clippers official:
“The world in Clipperland revolves around Kawhi Leonard. And the moon is Dennis Robertson. There’s no way the Clippers didn’t know about this deal.”
The official’s blunt assessment throws cold water on the team’s repeated defense that owner Steve Ballmer was “duped” by Aspiration. Instead, it suggests Leonard’s uncle and longtime representative, Dennis Robertson, had significant influence over team decisions and that the organization knew exactly how closely its finances were tied to Leonard’s personal arrangements.
Torre’s reporting has already exposed troubling overlaps between the Clippers’ financial dealings and Leonard’s private Aspiration deal. Between September 2021 and March 2023, Ballmer, the Clippers, and affiliated entities invested $118 million into the company, often coinciding with Leonard’s scheduled payments.
The most glaring example came in June 2022, when the Clippers authorized a $21 million carbon credit purchase just two weeks before Aspiration sent Leonard his first $1.75 million paycheck.
Similar patterns repeated across multiple transactions, including an April 2022 $32 million purchase that lined up with Leonard’s $28 million endorsement signing, and a December 2022 transfer from a Clippers minority owner that preceded another payout.
Agents across the league have blasted the arrangement, calling Leonard’s $7 million annual no-show deal “outlandish” compared to typical endorsement contracts that rarely exceed $1 million for companies of Aspiration’s size.
The official’s comments raise serious questions about how much the Clippers’ front office knew. Ballmer has argued that the investments were strictly about making the new Intuit Dome arena carbon neutral, with sponsorship deals built in.
Yet, with Robertson reportedly messaging Aspiration executives directly about Leonard’s payouts, and millions of dollars changing hands at suspicious times, the line between sustainability investments and cap circumvention looks increasingly blurred.
The NBA has already opened its investigation into the Clippers after Torre’s initial report. If the league concludes this was a covert way of funneling extra money to Leonard outside of his official salary, the punishment could be unprecedented: voiding Leonard’s deal, stripping draft picks, and possibly sanctioning Ballmer himself.
With NBA media day just hours away, the controversy isn’t going anywhere. Reporters are expected to press Leonard, Robertson, Ballmer, and the Clippers’ leadership on what they knew, when they knew it, and why the transactions lined up so neatly with Leonard’s payouts.
For now, the franchise remains publicly committed to the story that they were misled. But with a former Clippers insider now hinting otherwise, the walls are closing in. What started as a quirky “Board Man Gets Paid” saga has spiraled into one of the league’s most high-stakes scandals, one that could reshape not only Leonard’s legacy, but also the credibility of one of the NBA’s richest and most ambitious franchises.
