The Denver Nuggets have twice beaten the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs in recent years, a feat that became all the more impressive on Wednesday when podcaster Pablo Torre revealed that the Southern California franchise may have skirted the salary cap to land their star, Kawhi Leonard.
Torre’s investigation started with the widely discussed rumors among NBA higher-ups that there was suspicion about how the Clippers initially landed Leonard in free agency in 2019. Unlike the NBA, Torre says he uncovered a bombshell related to a tree-planting company that he alleges was fraudulent and that paid Leonard $28 million outside the salary cap. According to Torre, it was for an endorsement job that didn’t include any marketing, but did include a stipulation that he play for the Clippers, a hint that this could have been for the explicit reason of bypassing the salary cap.
The Clippers have denied that they or owner Steve Ballmer engaged in any cap circumvention. The NBA has not announced any findings related to these claims.
Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a “no-show job” with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, according to documents obtained by @PabloTorre.
“It was to circumvent the salary cap,” an inside source says. pic.twitter.com/F6z5pNEkI1
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025
If Torre’s story checks out, it’s a major development in the NBA as the Clippers have become one of the most talked-about teams since signing Leonard. They used that interest and the money from Ballmer to fund the brand-new Intuit Dome, which will host the 2026 All-Star Game, again putting the Clippers in the spotlight.
This tree-planting business adds to the lore and the cost to get Kawhi, which included adding Paul George via a trade that sent away future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Oklahoma City Thunder and largely built this past year’s NBA champions. The effects may continue, and if the Clippers are found to have violated salary-cap rules, there could be significant penalties. The last team to have been found guilty of salary cap circumvention, the Minnesota Timberwolves with Joe Smith, was fined a then-record $3.5 million and initially stripped of five first-round draft picks. The Clippers already do not fully control their own first-round pick until 2030, so this could have major long-term effects.
That, of course, would hamper a Western Conference rival—notable for the Nuggets. “But what’s already happened is notable too, if the allegations are true.
The Nuggets have twice beaten the Clippers in the playoffs in the Nikola Jokic and Kawhi era. First came the bubble series, when Denver erased a 3-1 deficit. Then, this past spring, Denver won a seven-game series after trailing 2-1. This news—if true—would add to Jokic’s legacy: He took down a team that wasn’t following the rules. Making both Jokic and the Nuggets’ efforts in coming back from 3-1 twice in the bubble more impressive. It’s one thing to topple Kevin Durant or LeBron James; it’s another to beat Leonard and company if they weren’t playing by the same rules and do it twice.
