Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are facing major heat after the discovery of a potentially illegal endorsement deal involving a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. It’s a shocking development that reportedly has the NBA league office scrambling to respond.
“From the NBA perspective, what I’ve been told this morning is that it’s a bit of panic over there,” Pablo Torre explained on the Dan Patrick Show. “I am told that they did not know about this deal between Steve Ballmer, or at the very least between Aspiration and Kawhi Leonard, with the influence of Steve Ballmer. It’s gonna get a little messy over there.”
The NBA has strict rules against salary cap circumvention. The CBA explicitly requires that all player compensation be disclosed and count against the team’s salary cap. So, if Ballmer or the Clippers arranged for Kawhi to receive $28 million in side payments, that would be a clear violation of the rules.
While Kawhi and the Clippers may claim it’s a legitimate endorsement deal (worth $28 million), the company is conveniently bankrolled by Steve Ballmer. Even more damning is that Kawhi’s Aspiration contract includes a clause that says he only gets paid if he remains with the Clippers. If true, it will require severe action from the NBA league office, especially since the precedent has already been set.
Back in 2000, the Timberwolves made a secret deal with Joe Smith, promising him future contracts if he signed artificially cheap one-year deals. It was a blatant violation of circumvention rules by using backdoor deals to preserve their cap space. In response, the NBA set a harsh punishment that included a $3.5 million fine, the loss of five first-round picks, and the voiding of Joe Smith’s contract. Team owner Glen Taylor was suspended, and GM Kevin McHale was also penalized.
The NBA hoped that these penalties would deter any teams from attempting a similar stunt, but it seems the Clippers decided it was worth the risk. Now, if the Aspiration deal is proven to be a ruse, the NBA is obligated to respond with a similarly harsh punishment, including the loss of picks and major fines, at a minimum. It could even result in the team losing Kawhi Leonard, who signed a three-year deal with the Clippers in 2024.
By tying the $28 million deal to Aspiration, a company that is suspected to be a front to pay Kawhi, the Clippers have been able to get away with these secret payments, and it’s likely they knew the arrangement was completely against NBA standards.
Between the secrecy, the amount of money involved, and the details of the scandal, the Clippers are in serious trouble here, and the NBA is in full panic mode trying to get to the bottom of it. An extensive investigation has already been announced by the NBA, but it goes to show how easily these teams can get away with these shady practices.
If the Clippers were able to pull this off for so long under the NBA’s nose, what might other teams be doing to break CBA rules? It’s just a bad look for everyone involved and a sign that Adam Silver and the league office may not have as much control as they initially thought.
