The Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard are suddenly back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, thanks to a bombshell investigation by Pablo Torre. In his latest report, Torre uncovered financial documents that suggest Leonard may have received $28 million from a fraudulent environmental company called Aspiration, with the money potentially serving as a backdoor benefit connected to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
This story begins with Kawhi’s 2019 free agency, one of the most dramatic in NBA history. Leonard, fresh off leading the Toronto Raptors to their first championship, was the most coveted player on the market. The Lakers, pairing him with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, looked like frontrunners.
Toronto also had strong odds to retain him. But Leonard shocked the basketball world by joining the Clippers on a three-year, $103 million deal. He later signed a four-year, $176 million extension in 2021, followed by a three-year, $149 million extension in 2024.
At the time, rival executives whispered that Ballmer, one of the richest men alive, must have found a way to sweeten the pot. The NBA investigated but found no evidence of wrongdoing. Now, Torre’s discovery reopens that question.
The key lies in Aspiration, a celebrity-backed company marketed as a “tree brokerage” promising to offset carbon emissions. Stars like Robert Downey Jr., Drake, and even Kawhi’s then-head coach, Doc Rivers, promoted the brand.
But when Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, its list of creditors contained an eye-catching entry: “KL2 Aspire LLC.” Under manager or member, the name listed was Kawhi Leonard. The company owed this LLC $7 million.
From there, Torre and his team uncovered signed documents proving that Kawhi had a $28 million marketing agreement with Aspiration, paying him $7 million annually.
The problem? Unlike other celebrities, Leonard never once publicly mentioned or promoted the company. There were no ads, interviews, posts, or appearances linked to him. According to a former Aspiration finance employee, Leonard’s contract was an open secret inside the company.
“I was told, ‘Oh, this is to circumvent the salary cap, LOL,’” the employee revealed. “It was the single largest marketing deal Aspiration ever paid out. And Kawhi didn’t have to do anything.”
Torre summed it up bluntly: Kawhi Leonard had what amounted to a $28 million no-show job.
The Clippers responded with a firm denial, releasing a statement insisting, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”
Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a "no-show job" with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, according to documents obtained by @PabloTorre.
"It was to circumvent the salary cap," an inside source says. pic.twitter.com/F6z5pNEkI1
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025
But the optics remain troubling. If Leonard truly pocketed millions through a sham endorsement funded by Ballmer or his associates, that would represent one of the most serious cases of cap circumvention in league history. It would call into question the legitimacy of Kawhi’s decision to join the Clippers in 2019 and potentially expose both Leonard and the franchise to massive penalties.
For context, the NBA has punished teams for far less. The Minnesota Timberwolves lost multiple first-round picks in 2000 for secretly promising Joe Smith an under-the-table future contract. If the league were to conclude that Ballmer funneled money to Leonard outside of cap rules, the Clippers could face similar or harsher sanctions.
Leonard, for his part, has not commented publicly. His reputation as one of the NBA’s most private stars adds another layer of intrigue. Unlike Drake or Robert Downey Jr., he never appeared in a single piece of Aspiration marketing.
That silence, once just part of his brand, now raises questions: Was he complicit in the deal, or merely a beneficiary of financial engineering he didn’t fully grasp?
At 34, Kawhi is still one of the league’s premier two-way players and a two-time Finals MVP. His place in NBA history is secure. But this revelation complicates his Clippers legacy, a chapter already defined by “what-ifs” due to injuries and playoff collapses.
For Ballmer, who has poured billions into making the Clippers a marquee franchise, the scandal cuts against the image he has cultivated as an enthusiastic, above-board superfan owner. Even if nothing illegal is proven, the suggestion that his money was tied to a fraudulent company that overpaid Leonard for nothing may damage his credibility with fans and executives alike.
The league has yet to announce whether it will reopen an investigation. But the smoke is thick, and Torre’s report has set the NBA world buzzing. Did Kawhi Leonard really take $28 million for a ghost endorsement? And if so, how deep does Steve Ballmer’s involvement run?
For now, one thing is certain: the story of Kawhi’s arrival in Los Angeles, already dramatic, just got far messier.
