The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly paid $2 million to the now-bankrupt company that paid Kawhi Leonard for a "no-show job" days after the exchange was made, journalist Pablo Torre reported on the latest episode of his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast released on Thursday (September 11).
Dennis J. Wong, a Clippers limited partner, reportedly invested $1.99 million into Aspiration, which was financially backed by Clippers owner Steve Balmer, less than 10 days after the company paid Leonard $1.75 million as part of an endorsement deal for an appearance he never made, which Torre had previously reported was intended to "circumvent the salary cap." Ballmer invested $50 million into Aspiration through his personal LLC in September 2021, while the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with the company two weeks later.
Torre said the payment to Leonard was late as Aspiration faced financial issues prior to filing for bankruptcy. The Clippers issued a statement last week denying the allegations.
"Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap," the team said in its statement. "The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration's co-founders presented themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting the environment.
"After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243 million fraud. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons before defaulting on its contract.
"There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi's independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.
"The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league's rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation into Aspiration's blatantly fraudulent activity."
Leonard, 34, signed a three-year, $153 million deal with the Clippers in January 2024, which will run through the 2026-27 season. The two-time former NBA champion was limited to just 37 games due to a right knee injury, averaging 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists during the 2024-25 NBA season.
Torre, a former ESPN reporter, had previously given deep dives into several topics on his podcast, which included legendary former NFL turned University of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson earlier this year.