Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard fights for a rebound during a NBA preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 10, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. (File photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
A $28 million endorsement contract between NBA star Kawhi Leonard, a San Diego State alum, and a California-based sustainability services company, is at the center of a league salary cap controversy.
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer said in an interview with ESPN that he welcomes the NBA’s investigation into an alleged circumvention of salary cap rules, denying any involvement in the contract.
Ballmer said he’d want the NBA to probe another club if it were accused of the same violation.
“Salary cap circumvention rules are important to the league, and I’d want the league to investigate,” Ballmer told ESPN.
The former Microsoft CEO also said in the interview that he introduced the six-time All-Star Leonard to the now-bankrupt green banking business, Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. Ballmer once invested $50 million in the venture.
Ballmer said he’s been reviewing his interaction with Aspiration as part of his and the Clippers’ cooperation with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the company.
Co-founder Joseph Sanberg agreed to plead guilty last month after facing federal charges of wire fraud. Prosecutors said he defrauded investors and lenders out of more than $248 million.
The Clippers strongly denied any rules were broken in a statement issued on Wednesday after the NBA announced its investigation following a report by journalist Pablo Torre that alleged the violation.
The Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with Aspiration in 2021, about a month after Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million extension. The team ended that relationship after two years because the contract was in default.
The league — which previously looked into claims that Leonard’s representatives asked for perks that would be considered cap circumventions when he was a free agent — can issue stiff penalties if cap rules are found to have been broken by a team.
That could include a fine of up to $7.5 million, the voiding of contracts and the forfeiture of future draft picks.
Leonard, whose number was retired by San Diego State five years ago, played basketball for the Aztecs from 2009-11 and led them to the Sweet 16 at the 2011 NCAA Tournament.