This offseason has been one for the ages, but there’s one major storyline that has yet to play out: the NBA’s cap-circumvention investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. Since ties were discovered between Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and a no-show endorsement contract paid to Kawhi through Aspiration (a fraudulent tree-planting company), they’ve been determined to prove their innocence by whatever means necessary.
While the investigation is currently ongoing, reports indicate that the league could reach a conclusion before the start of the new season. That is, unless the NBA Players Association gets involved. According to the latest intel from ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, this investigation could stretch into 2027 or beyond if the NBA comes to a certain ruling.
“The NBA investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard could drag into 2027 if the parties don’t agree on the findings or any proposed settlement that involves punishing the team,” wrote Holmes. “Sources close to the National Basketball Players Association with knowledge of the investigation said the union wouldn’t hesitate to take the matter to arbitration if the NBA sought penalties without sufficient evidence proving the claim that the Clippers have denied since the league’s probe began nearly 10 months ago.”
The NBA has hired an outside firm to handle the investigation, the same one that settled the misconduct cases involving former Clippers owner Donald Sterling and former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver. So far, we don’t know much about what they discovered, but independent journalists have already found a suspicious link between Ballmer and Kawhi’s payments from Aspiration.
Still, despite how bad this looks for Los Angeles, the consensus is that the league doesn’t yet have enough to dish out any major punishment. They need concrete evidence that the team knowingly used Aspiration as a front to pay Leonard. Of course, they claim that they were the victims of fraud and that the investigation will fully exonerate them. If they’re wrong, they could face potential fines, suspensions, or the forfeiture of draft picks.
“When asked if he believed there was anything that the New York law firm Wachtell Lipton — which is directing the NBA’s investigation — had uncovered that was worthy of punishment, Kelly replied, ‘Not from anything I’ve seen.”
The Clippers are still waiting for the results of the investigation, but they will not just quietly accept a guilty verdict. They intend to use whatever means at their disposal to fight the accusations and ensure that they are fully cleared by the end.
“One source with knowledge of the investigative process cautioned against the idea of any outside parties having inside knowledge of Wachtell’s findings to date — or of anyone trying to speculate as to whether the length of the investigation signals what Wachtell has or hasn’t found. The Clippers remain adamant that they did not funnel money to Leonard through Aspiration, and one source close to the team with knowledge of the investigation said that the team would ‘fight that to the end,’ including through arbitration.”
The biggest question in all of this is what happens with Kawhi Leonard. His trade to the Raptors had to be put on hold this summer, and the Clippers remain confident the deal will go through. But if the investigation lingers past the summer and into the New Year, it would make things very awkward for everyone involved.
Needless to say, there’s a lot on the line here, and the pressure is high for the NBA to get this investigation right. With the Clippers maintaining their innocence, any suggestion of guilt will be met with fierce resistance. That’s why the NBA is taking its time and allowing the process to play out before making any final decisions.
