As Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers insist they did not attempt any salary-cap circumvention related to Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement contract, the details around the organization’s involvement in Aspiration continue to pile up. On the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, Pablo Torre reported Ballmer and the Clippers invested $118 million in Aspiration in an 18-month period from …
Read More »Tag Archives: Ballmer
LA Clippers’ Steve Ballmer denies Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention scheme | Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer claimed he had no knowledge of the deal between Kawhi Leonard and Aspiration and would “want the league to investigate” if another team were accused of circumventing the NBA’s salary cap. “I’d want the league to investigate, take it seriously,” Ballmer told ESPN on Thursday in his first interview since the story broke following …
Read More »Steve Ballmer Invested Another $10M In Aspiration In March 2023
Steve Ballmer invested nearly $10 million into Aspiration in March 2023, which followed his initial $50 million investment 18 months earlier, according to legal filings reviewed by The Athletic and corroborated by a former executive with the company. Ballmer’s $10 million investment came as Aspiration was quickly losing cash, laying off employees and struggling to raise funds. The March 2023 …
Read More »Report: Steve Ballmer made a second, $10 million investment into failing company that endorsed Leonard
Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer’s defense in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention and “no show” endorsement scandal has been “plausible deniability.” Ballmer said he was “duped” like other investors when he put $50 million into the green bank company Aspiration (a company that had become a $300 million Clippers team sponsor back in 2021, but now is bankrupt with its …
Read More »Clippers owner Steve Ballmer made another $10M investment in Aspiration
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested nearly $10 million in March 2023 into the company Aspiration, which allegedly gave Kawhi Leonard a no-show deal that the NBA is now investigating, The Athletic reported Friday. This investment came 18 months following Ballmer’s $50 million investment in Aspiration, which is behind the league’s probe into the Clippers to see if Leonard was given …
Read More »Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested additional $10M in company sponsoring Kawhi Leonard
In March 2023, LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested almost $10 million into financial technology and sustainability services company Aspiration, according to legal filings reviewed by The Athletic and corroborated by a former Aspiration executive. The previously unreported investment came 18 months after Ballmer’s $50 million investment in the firm now at the heart of an NBA investigation into whether …
Read More »Steve Ballmer Pleads Ignorance About Kawhi Leonard’s Outside Money
The relationship between the Los Angeles Clippers, the dubious carbon-credit company Aspiration, and Kawhi Leonard sure looks like salary cap circumvention, as journalist Pablo Torre has convincingly laid out on his podcast. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had personally invested $50 million in Aspiration; Leonard was later offered a $28 million sponsorship by Aspiration that required virtually nothing of him, and …
Read More »Steve Ballmer denies allegations of Kawhi Leonard, Clippers circumventing salary cap
Los Angeles Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer denied that his team circumvented the NBA’s salary-cap rules in an ESPN interview Thursday night, offering a direct response to a report by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast. Ballmer also said he welcomed the league’s investigation into the arrangements. Ballmer sat down with ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne for a 16-minute interview and said …
Read More »LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer breaks silence over Kawhi Leonard endorsement scandal
Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer is calling on the NBA to investigate other teams accused of circumventing the league’s salary cap in his first comments since being the target of a probe involving Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement deal. “I’d want the league to investigate, take it seriously. Salary cap circumvention rules are important to the league, and I’d want the …
Read More »Timeline of Kawhi Leonard, Clippers and Steve Ballmer events that led to NBA investigation
The Kawhi Leonard era with the LA Clippers has been hit with another scandal. This one is perhaps the most significant yet with the two-time NBA Finals MVP set to begin his seventh season with the franchise in a month. The “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast reported Wednesday that Leonard allegedly received a lucrative, no-work contract from a now-bankrupt environmental …
Read More »