Gilbert Arenas is never shy when it comes to giving unfiltered takes, and his latest rant feels eerily prophetic given the scandal currently hanging over the Los Angeles Clippers.
On a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, Arenas launched into an eye-popping monologue about Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, joking, but perhaps not entirely joking, that the billionaire tech mogul is far too rich to ever play by the same rules as the rest of the NBA’s owners.
“Borrow some money. What do white people do? Borrow some s**t. Hey, let me borrow like $10 billion real quick. I need to pay some of these people under the table. Like, are y’all not trying to be real owners? If I’m Ballmer, I don’t give a f**k what that salary cap is, I don’t care what it says. I am cheating.”
“I got too much money to be on the same playing field with you broke ass f***ers. We’re not. All right, you want 50 million? I’m gonna give you 5 on the books, because I gotta afford somebody else. 5 on the books, 45 under the table. Behind the scenes. Don’t even worry about it. I got you.”
“You got a foundation? I got that. You got business deals? I got that. You want a percentage of what? I got that. Just go ahead and sign that. You too?”
“How the f**k all these people keep getting here? This mother f***ker got the USA basketball team in his b***h. Two of these mother f***kers own buildings downtown. How? There’s gonna be investigations after investigations. It’s not like the NBA wanna catch me anyway. They work for me.”
“Adam Silver, what you want? What you want? I think this investigation says you ain’t found s**t. Here’s a check says you ain’t found s**t. What the f**k you talking about?”
The outburst comes as Ballmer and the Clippers are already under heavy scrutiny. Just a day ago, journalist Pablo Torre reported that Kawhi Leonard was linked to a $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration, a fraudulent tree-planting company that has since filed for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy filings revealed that Kawhi’s LLC, “KL2 Aspire,” was owed millions from the company despite never publicly endorsing it. That revelation sparked speculation that Ballmer and the Clippers may have used backchannel methods to secure Leonard’s services in 2019, though the team has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Clippers. With Kawhi Leonard’s $28 million deal raising questions, the NBA is already reported to be in “panic mode.”
The league has faced criticism for appearing too lenient in the past on teams accused of cap circumvention, especially when stars are involved. Arenas’ fiery remarks only fuel the perception that Ballmer’s wealth puts him on a different playing field than smaller-market owners.
Not everyone agrees with that narrative. Mark Cuban recently defended Ballmer, saying both Leonard and the Clippers were victims of Aspiration’s massive $300 million fraud, not perpetrators of a scheme. Meanwhile, former Clippers guard Patrick Beverley publicly stood by Leonard, calling him one of the hardest-working teammates he’s ever had.
Still, the optics remain messy. Arenas’ exaggerations might be tongue-in-cheek, but they highlight a larger issue: the imbalance created when the NBA’s richest owner is accused of working in the shadows. Ballmer’s financial empire dwarfs most of his peers, and Arenas’ rant reflects the unease around how that power could influence roster building, even if no official rules are technically broken.
In classic Gilbert Arenas fashion, the delivery was brash, laced with profanity, and likely exaggerated for effect. Yet the underlying point hits hard, if Steve Ballmer wants to spend, there may be no practical way for other teams, or even the league, to stop him.
