Since the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, the LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer have been under investigation by the league due to the bombshell allegations that the team was circumventing the salary cap by paying Kawhi Leonard under the table through an endorsement deal with a company named Aspiration. Ballmer was allegedly an investor in Aspiration, which was also one of the team’s sponsors. Per the original reporting by Pablo Torre, Aspiration then agreed to pay $28 million to Leonard in four years.
The Clippers’ top brass has denied these allegations, and the league is conducting its own investigation to determine whether the organization did, in fact, break the salary cap rules. In the meantime, Torre has been releasing more information and making more allegations about the Clippers’ dealings with Leonard.
In Torre’s latest podcast episode, the journalist reported that former Clippers executive Michael Winger (now the Wizards GM) said, “How many *** side deals have we made with Kawhi?” per former team employees. Torre also revealed that the Clippers funneled money into Dennis Robertson, aka Uncle Dennis, who has been a close associate of Leonard in these dealings, by listing him as the agent of former Clippers trainer Randy Shelton. Shelton has since been fired and is involved in a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Clippers.
It is important to remember that these are all allegations. If the league is conducting a thorough investigation, everyone named in these reports will be interviewed. If they corroborate these allegations, the league will have to take action.
There can be several actions the league can take. It could punish the Clippers by taking away their draft picks, similar to what they have done to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 after they were caught paying Joe Smith under the table. They could take action against Ballmer specifically, forcing him to step away. They could also target Leonard with their punishment. Voiding his contract with the team and not allowing him to play for some time could be a possibility.
The organization has made a concerted effort to talk as little as possible about the ongoing investigation. They are understandably not sharing much and are denying all allegations. At the same time, it has to be part of their calculations as they evaluate the future of the franchise. Any of the aforementioned consequences would be severely detrimental to the team in the future. Until this is resolved, the investigation will hang over the Clippers’ heads like the sword of Damocles.
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