Mark Cuban came to the defense of Steve Ballmer and the LA Clippers over the Kawhi Leonard controversy, only to receive an interesting response.
After what has been, in all sincerity, a fairly tepid NBA offseason, one story has immediately brought the eyes of the world back to Adam Silver’s league.
Yesterday, Pablo Torre revealed his investigation into the LA Clippers, in which he claimed that Kawhi Leonard allegedly earned $28 million from Aspiration, a shell company, as part of an endorsement deal.
This endorsement deal was allegedly crafted by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer to pay Leonard what he wanted without flouting the NBA’s salary cap rules.
But former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban believes the Clippers, Ballmer, and even Leonard are being misrepresented here.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesMark Cuban defends LA Clippers and Steve Ballmer, slams company for endorsement deal
Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban took to X to defend Steve Ballmer and the LA Clippers over these recent allegations.
He pointed out that Ballmer wouldn’t be careless enough to let a fake company he used to pay Leonard go bankrupt, thus making their financial records publicly available. Cuban added that Aspiration are to blame for scamming the team and their clients.
“I’m on Team Ballmer, as much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap. First, Steve isn’t that dumb.
“If he did try to feed [Kawhi Leonard] money, knowing what was at stake for him personally and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt?
“Knowing all creditors would be visible to the world? They got scammed by Aspiration, along with many others. Crimes for which they pleaded guilty last week.
“Scammers do scammy things. They did a $300m sponsorship deal with the Clippers in 2021. That’s a HUGE deal. The better the team does, the more value the sponsorship has.
“It actually makes perfect sense that if they stole money from investors and want the Clippers to succeed, why not give stolen money to help keep their best player?
I’m on Team Ballmer.
As much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap, First Steve isn’t that dumb. If he did try to feed KL money, knowing what was at stake for him personally, and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt ? Knowing all creditors would… https://t.co/AxvMoLmPv7
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 3, 2025
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Mark Cuban calls out Pablo Torre for investigation, gets challenging response
In the same post on X, Mark Cuban also called out Pablo Torre for his investigation, saying that targeting Ballmer is not a good idea.
“It’s sad that Pablo Torre didn’t take the time to find out how these scammers pulled off their scam. The idea that the default is Ballmer is the bad guy is going to backfire on him.”
In response, Pablo Torre invited Mark Cuban on to his show to discuss the matter further. Interestingly, Cuban seemed to accept the invite.
“Dear Mark Cuban, care to come on [my show] to discuss my reporting? I have some questions I’d love to ask you! Thanks, Pablo.”
Perhaps we get an in-depth discussion on this matter on the next episode of Pablo Torre’s show, and see whether there is any merit to what Cuban has to say.
In the meantime, fans in the Big Apple will be hopeful this matter stays isolated in Los Angeles, as Torre did hint at a potential investigation into the New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson.