The NBA investigation into explosive allegations that Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer orchestrated sophisticated financial schemes involving superstar Kawhi Leonard keeps getting more complicated. What started as claims of a $28 million salary cap circumvention scandal has now mushroomed into a $48 million controversy that’s rocking the league’s front offices.
The drama refuses to fade, fueled by relentless reporting from investigative journalist Pablo Torre and the very public defenses mounted by Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban. Instead of quieting down, this story keeps adding new twists that make the situation worse for everyone involved.
Why Won’t the Pablo Torre and Mark Cuban Social Media War End?
Ever since Torre broke the story alleging Leonard pocketed far more than his standard contract through questionable deals, Cuban has emerged as one of Ballmer’s loudest supporters. Torre initially revealed a trail suggesting Leonard’s connections to the environmental fintech company Aspiration, which paid Leonard money for doing essentially nothing.
Many viewed this as a clear red flag pointing to salary cap violations. Cuban, however, pushed back hard from the beginning, insisting Ballmer had done nothing wrong. In a heated exchange with Torre on X, Cuban argued that the billionaire owner had simply been caught up in the fallout of Aspiration’s shady dealings rather than orchestrating them.
The situation heated up again when Cuban took to X just days ago to lay out his own perspective. He stressed that everything he had pieced together came directly from public reporting, not secret sources. Cuban pointed out that Leonard was already being paid the maximum amount his home team could legally offer. By Cuban’s reasoning, the idea that the Clippers would risk additional shady payments to keep Leonard made no sense.
However, Torre remained unconvinced by Cuban’s explanations and continued pressing for answers. “Mark… The Clippers gained *Kawhi Leonard* – in exactly the way that Kawhi and his reps pitched Toronto in 2019 [no-show job + equity]. The Clippers *also* gained a $300 million sponsorship deal that is all over ‘public articles.’ Here’s a question: Why are you doing this?” wrote Torre on his X.
Adding fuel to the fire, Torre doubled down with fresh revelations. He unearthed financial records showing Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong injecting nearly $2 million into Aspiration on December 6, 2022, just as the company was drowning in cash flow problems and laying off employees.
Just nine days later, the struggling firm wired Leonard $1.75 million. Wong’s investment aligned almost perfectly with a payment to the Clippers star, raising even more eyebrows about the overlap between team investors and Leonard’s unusual windfall.
Meanwhile, Torre has also revealed that Ballmer made an additional $10 million investment in Aspiration during 2023, even as the company continued struggling financially. This brings Ballmer’s total investment to approximately $60 million in a company he now claims defrauded him.
As the NBA’s probe continues in its early stages, the full scope of the situation remains unclear. But one thing is certain: Torre isn’t backing down from his investigation, and Cuban isn’t letting Ballmer stand alone in this fight. The controversy that started with allegations of a simple endorsement deal has evolved into a complex web involving multiple team owners and millions of dollars in questionable transactions.