NBA’s Cap-Circumvention Probe Into Clippers and Kawhi Leonard Continues Without Timeline for Resolution
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Six months after allegations surfaced that the LA Clippers routed outside money to Kawhi Leonard through a $28 million endorsement with green banking startup Aspiration, the NBA’s investigation shows no sign of wrapping up.
What the league is examining
The probe, launched in September 2025, is being handled by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Investigators are focused on whether Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and team officials structured Leonard’s April 2022 sponsorship to skirt the NBA salary cap. Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021, the same month the Clippers struck a separate $300 million partnership naming the company a “founding partner” of the Intuit Dome.
Attorney David Anders, who led the league’s 2021–22 investigation of former Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver, is directing interviews with Clippers personnel and former Aspiration employees. Multiple sources say interviews remain in progress. It is unclear whether Leonard or representatives close to him have been questioned.
Commissioner calls case “enormously complex”
During All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles last month, Commissioner Adam Silver described the matter as “enormously complex,” noting Aspiration’s ongoing bankruptcy and the large volume of documents and witnesses. He added that, “from everything I’ve been told, the Clippers have been fully cooperative.” Silver did not discuss the investigation at last week’s Board of Governors meeting.
Next steps once findings are delivered
When Wachtell Lipton completes its report, Silver may submit the findings to a neutral arbitrator jointly appointed by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. The arbitrator will decide whether evidence warrants penalties. If approved, Silver could impose discipline; if not, the process ends without sanctions.
Public responses from key figures
Ballmer, Leonard and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank have consistently denied wrongdoing. “We welcome an investigation,” Ballmer told ESPN in September 2025. Leonard said the allegations would not be a distraction, adding, “None of us did any wrongdoing.”
Aspiration co-founder Andrei Cherny also denied any cap circumvention, but three former senior executives—Rojeh Avanesian, Mike Shuckerow and Eric Anderson—countered that the Leonard deal was expensive and misaligned with the firm’s strategy.
Parallel legal action
Ballmer was added in November 2025 to a lawsuit filed by 11 former Aspiration investors who claim they were defrauded by co-founder Joseph Sanberg. Plaintiffs allege Ballmer funneled money to Leonard through the sponsorship. A hearing is set for April 22 in Los Angeles County Superior Court; Ballmer’s attorneys are seeking dismissal.
Inside Leonard’s endorsement contract
ESPN obtained the 19-page agreement, which outlines autograph sessions, community events and an annual eight-hour filming day. The deal allowed Aspiration to terminate the contract if Leonard left the Clippers and included a “beliefs” clause letting him refuse activities that conflicted with his personal beliefs. Five independent player agents and an NBPA source told ESPN the terms appear standard, though two agents cited the broad “beliefs” language as unusual.
Status of obligations and Aspiration’s collapse
Company officials and Leonard’s camp discussed potential activations in late 2022, but none were executed before Aspiration laid off employees, defaulted on payments and eventually filed for bankruptcy in March 2025. Court filings list $170 million in debt, including $30 million owed to the Clippers and $7 million to a Leonard-owned LLC.
The NBA has not provided a timetable for concluding its review, and no further public updates are expected until investigators deliver their report.
Source: ESPN
