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 …
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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 …
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Following up on Pablo Torre’s report on the possibility of salary cap circumvention involving the Clippers and star forward Kawhi Leonard, John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal provides some fascinating additional details, citing a “high-level” source who says Leonard made a side deal with the company Aspiration to receive an additional $20MM in company stock on top of the $28MM …
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At the heart of the uproar over allegations that Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers received millions in undisclosed payments from a tree-planting startup is a National Basketball Association rule that caps the total annual payroll for teams. According to a report by Pablo Torre of the Athletic, bankruptcy documents show that the tree-planting startup Aspiration Partners paid Leonard …
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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 …
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The NBA is opening an investigation into a media report that Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard received a multimillion-dollar no-work contract with a now-bankrupt environmental company as a form of payment to circumvent the NBA’s salary rules. “We are aware of this morning’s media report regarding the LA Clippers and are commencing an investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told …
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As the Clippers became the center of the basketball universe on Wednesday over allegations that they circumvented the salary cap, one former NBA majority owner is standing behind the team. Hours after Pablo Torre reported on his podcast that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer allegedly worked around the cap with a $28 million no-show marketing agreement for Kawhi Leonard, former Mavericks …
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Kawhi Leonard allegedly received a lucrative, no-work contract from a now-bankrupt environmental company with direct ties to his team, the LA Clippers, and franchise owner Steve Ballmer so that he could be paid more money without it counting against the NBA’s salary rules, according to accusations made by former employees of the firm. In the latest episode of the “Pablo …
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Baxter HolmesSep 3, 2025, 12:17 PM ET Close Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He has covered the Lakers, the Celtics and previously worked for The Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times. The LA Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer reportedly have been accused of circumventing the NBA’s salary cap …
Read More »The Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer are accused of paying star Kawhi Leonard $28 million for a “no-show job” as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap, according to a report by Pablo Torre. Torre laid out the alleged scandal on his program, “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” on Wednesday. The show — which features plenty of direct …
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