As the fire from the controversy involving the Los Angeles Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer, the team’s superstar Kawhi Leonard and embattled environmental firm Aspiration rages on, Mark Cuban doubled down on his assertion that Ballmer was nothing more than just a victim of a scam perpetuated by the company in question.
The Dallas Mavericks minority owner, a controversial figure himself during his days as majority owner of the Mavs, argued that he doesn’t believe that Ballmer, whose net worth is more than $100 billion, would compromise his integrity and the fate of the entire Clippers franchise by circumventing the NBA’s rules regarding player salaries.
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The Clippers are Ballmer’s baby
In today’s NBA, no owner is more invested in his team than Ballmer. Apart from the obvious financial investment he has made in acquiring the Clippers and turning it into a legitimate title contender, his presence and the vibe he brings to the organization are unmatched.
When American journalist Pablo Torre brought the issue into the spotlight, Cuban was quick to defend Ballmer. Having invested $50 million in Aspiration, Steve was portrayed by Mark not as the perpetrator, but as the victim.
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“The scammers is where all the blame should start,” Cuban said during his appearance on the “Road Trippin'” podcast. “And I just don’t see Steve, you know, just giving up $50 million and just doing all this s—t and risking his entire reputation, integrity, and franchise.”
The NBA is currently investigating whether Kawhi’s $28-million, no-work endorsement deal with Aspiration violated the league’s collective bargaining agreement. However, Cuban and even former NBA player Channing Frye are certain that Ballmer had no malicious intent in his investment.
“It just doesn’t make sense that you would, let’s say, the 50 and then let’s say it’s $78 million, right? Let’s just say because of Kawhi’s 28, he puts in 50,” Frye surmised. “But then you spend $2 billion to build a new arena. So like, that’s $78 million to a billionaire is like okay, whatever — but this is my baby. Like, the Clippers. Why would I sacrifice the Clippers for 28 million? It doesn’t even make sense.”
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Rich guys make mistakes too
Before becoming the Clippers’ owner, Ballmer made his fortune as the CEO of Microsoft. However, just because he was successful in steering such a prominent company doesn’t mean he’s immune to making mistakes.
“I mean, look, even rich guys can be stupid,” Cuban declared.
He added that Ballmer’s failed investment is nothing new in the business world. Cuban went on to say that he’s been burned by bad investments before and that it’s all part of being a risk-taker.
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“And the whole thing about this — every single thing that’s happened in that story, I’ve been through dozens of times. I’ve been scammed. I’ve made investments based off a trust. I’ve looked at numbers where people have put together fraudulent bank statements and taken the money and put it in their own pocket,” Cuban narrated.
Ballmer himself came out and stated in an ESPN interview that he was a victim of a con job.
“These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an investment in these guys, thinking it was on the up and up, and they conned me at this stage,” Ballmer expressed. “I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”
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It remains to be seen how the latest chapter of the Clippers’ drama will unfold, but one thing is sure: the stakes are high and the consequences could be severe. With allegations of fraud and deception being thrown around, the Clippers’ season is in peril long before the ball even hits the court.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.