Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has addressed allegations that the franchise circumvented NBA salary cap rules during Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 free agency.
Speaking with Ramona Shelburne on SportsCenter, Ballmer insisted that the organization has operated within league guidelines.
“We, the Clippers, have abided by the salary cap circumvention rules because that’s the right thing to do and we have done that,” Ballmer said. “I happen for what it’s worth to think it’s a very important rule in terms of promoting competitiveness and equal playing field across the league.”
The NBA launched an investigation after journalist Pablo Torre reported Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a bankrupt tree-planting company that Ballmer had invested in. Documents suggested the arrangement operated as a “no-show” contract, with payments tied to Leonard’s time in Los Angeles.
Ballmer rejected that claim, stressing that neither he nor the Clippers were involved in negotiating Leonard’s endorsement.
“We cannot pay a player anything beyond what’s in his standard player contract, and we cannot cause anybody else to pay the player what’s beyond their standard contract,” Ballmer explained. “That would include, for example, sponsors, endorsers. That is forbidden. We can’t do that, and we didn’t—certainly in this instance.”
He added that Aspiration first approached the Clippers with a sponsorship deal before any connection to Leonard was made.
“We had already signed our deal with Kawhi Leonard. We signed that in August of ’21. It was the most that we could pay him under the rules,” Ballmer said. “At that time we hadn’t even introduced Aspiration to Kawhi. The introduction didn’t come until November, well after his contract was finalized.”
Ballmer emphasized that he had no control over Aspiration, noting his stake in the company was under three percent.
“Heck, it was a fraudulent company. It’s possible nobody had any control,” he said. “They conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up and up, and they conned me.”
When asked about fans’ concerns over the appearance of impropriety, Ballmer said the timeline of events clears the team of wrongdoing.
“Where could any of this circumvention have happened? It didn’t. It couldn’t have. The deals were all locked and loaded before any introduction was made,” he said.
Ballmer also reaffirmed that Leonard’s camp has complied with league standards.
“They know the rules. They, meaning Kawhi and his representatives, including his uncle. We know the rules, and if anything’s not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are. We make absolutely clear we’re going to abide by those rules, and they understand them as well.”
The Clippers have stated they welcome the NBA’s investigation and will cooperate fully. “What’s most important to me is we’ve done the right thing in all those interactions,” Ballmer said. “We welcome the league investigation. We have nothing to hide, and we’re glad for that opportunity to tell our story.”
