LA Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer mentioned he desires the NBA to “take it severely” because the league investigates whether or not his franchise broke wage cap guidelines via Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement with a since-bankrupt monetary agency that had ties to Ballmer.
The feedback got here in Ballmer’s first interview since a podcast by Pablo Torre reported Wednesday that Leonard accepted a $28 million endorsement from Aspiration, a inexperienced banking firm wherein Ballmer had invested. On Thursday, the NBA introduced it had opened a proper investigation.
Steve Ballmer Explains Aspiration Connection
Ballmer mentioned the corporate requested him to attach them with Leonard in November 2021, about three months after the Clippers signed the ahead to a four-year, $173 million contract extension. Leonard had torn a knee ligament in the course of the group’s Western Convention finals run that summer time and missed the next season.
“We had been completed. We had been completed with Kawhi, we had been completed with Aspiration. The offers had been all locked and loaded,” Ballmer mentioned. “Then, they did request to be launched to Kawhi, and below the foundations, we will introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We simply can’t be concerned.”
Unique: Steve Ballmer’s $50M funding of Aspiration allowed the fraudulent inexperienced financial institution to pay Kawhi Leonard $7M/yr for a “no-show job,” in accordance with inside emails, contracts, financial institution statements and interviews.
“What you’re implying is that Ballmer’s funding was a… pic.twitter.com/IiQfihEeKd
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025
The Clippers had introduced their very own $300 million sponsorship with Aspiration two months earlier, together with a jersey patch and commitments tied to the group’s new enviornment. Ballmer mentioned Aspiration additionally made a bigger bid than Intuit for naming rights to the world, however Intuit in the end gained.
“We even discovered the e-mail that makes the primary introduction. It was early November,” Ballmer mentioned. “The introduction received made after which they had been off to the races on their very own. We weren’t concerned.”
He mentioned he realized afterward that Leonard struck a cope with Aspiration, however denied figuring out particulars of the contract or influencing it.
“These had been guys who dedicated fraud. Look, they conned me. They conned me,” Ballmer mentioned. “I made an funding in these guys pondering it was on the up-and-up, and so they conned me at this stage. I’ve no skill to foretell why they may have completed something they did, not to mention the precise contract with Kawhi.”
Fraud Case Complicates Scrutiny for LA Clippers
Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg pleaded responsible final month to 2 counts of wire fraud for defrauding buyers and lenders of greater than $248 million. Ballmer mentioned he had invested $50 million within the firm as half of a bigger funding spherical however by no means held a board seat or important stake.
“I had no management over this firm. I owned lower than 3% of the corporate,” Ballmer mentioned. “I had no board seat. I had no management. Heck, it was a fraudulent firm. It’s doable no one had any management.”
“They know the foundations. They, that means Kawhi and his representatives, together with his uncle. We all know the foundations.”
L.A. Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer talks to @ramonashelburne in regards to the allegations towards the group involving the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration deal. pic.twitter.com/Har1uHJCtt
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 5, 2025
Reviewing what turned out to be falsified monetary paperwork left Ballmer embarrassed.
“I reviewed, my workers reviewed primarily fraudulent financials,” he mentioned. “Now, ought to I’ve sniffed it out? Possibly I really feel embarrassed and type of foolish that I didn’t sniff it out, however I didn’t. A whole lot of different sensible buyers didn’t sniff it out both.”
Kawhi Leonard’s Historical past of Allegations
The Clippers and Leonard have confronted league scrutiny earlier than. In 2019, The Athletic reported that Leonard’s camp, led by his uncle Dennis Robertson, made improper requests throughout free company that included half possession of the group and off-court advantages. The NBA investigated however cleared the Clippers of wrongdoing, although the league mentioned it will revisit the matter if new proof surfaced.
In 2020, the Clippers had been investigated once more after a lawsuit alleged a $2.5 million cost was promised to assist recruit Leonard. The group denied the claims, and the case was dismissed with out penalty.
Ballmer insisted Leonard and his representatives know the league’s restrictions.
“They know the foundations. We all know the foundations, and if something’s not clear, we remind ourselves what the foundations are and we make completely clear we’re going to abide by these guidelines,” Ballmer defined.
He added that Leonard’s reserved persona has contributed to hypothesis about his enterprise dealings.
“I feel as a result of he comparatively doesn’t communicate a lot, I feel there’s lots of thriller round Kawhi,” Ballmer mentioned. “That could be why followers type of inform themselves, or create a story, if you’ll. I’ve had a terrific relationship with Kawhi. The allegations haven’t been true. However what’s most vital to me is we’ve completed the suitable factor in all these interactions.”
