What in the world is going on with the Clippers?
It was eight months ago when reports surfaced that Steve Ballmer, owner of Los Angeles’ “other” team, was accused of circumventing the NBA’s salary cap rule by using Aspiration, a now-defunct green banking company, to pay star Kawhi Leonard $28 million for a “no show” job.
Almost immediately once the accusations became public back in September 2025, an investigation, led by David Anders and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, began.
Ballmer and the Clippers initially welcomed the investigation, claiming innocence in two press releases sent out that day by saying, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”
However, eight months later and no definitive end appears in sight. And NBA commissioner Adam Silver has had enough.
“The investigation has been conducted by a law firm independent of the NBA,” Silver said Wednesday prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs. “Yes, ultimately we’re paying their bills, but they are doing the work independent of the league office, and my instruction to them is we can’t be investigating forever, but at some point, we have to wrap it up.
“But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right.”
If Ballmer and the Clippers are to be believed — their innocence that is — then why has this investigation taken so long? The NBA had an entire regular season — and most likely an entire postseason — during that span, including the Clippers hosting NBA All-Star game in February.
Silver spoke more on that topic Wednesday night.
“I think it’s clear they’re far along,” he said. “I think those reports are reading all the time from people who are being interviewed by them, and I think they understand that you can keep going on and on.
“But I think we’re close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up because you also need finality. Their team has to understand what the situation is they’re going to be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams.”
The backstory began in September 2021 when Ballmer partially funded the Aspiration with a $50 million investment from his personal LLC, according to Pablo Torre.
Two weeks later, the Clippers and Aspiration announced a $300 million partnership, which included at the time a patch on the Clippers jerseys and continued sponsorship in the Intuit Dome.
The following April, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. This came nine months after he signed a four-year, $176.3 million max extension to stay with the Clippers.
The investigation came to life when Torre reported that an unnamed employee who purportedly worked for the banking company said Leonard’s sponsorship deal “was to circumvent the salary cap.”
In an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne in September 2025, Ballmer stated that he had no prior knowledge or involvement in Leonard’s deal with Aspiration.
“The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd,” the Clippers said in a statement at the time. “There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.”
Since then, Aspiration went bankrupt and co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
Prosecutors were originally seeking 18 years in federal prison after saying Sanberg defrauded investors and lenders out of $248 million by fraudulently obtaining loans, falsifying bank and brokerage statements, and concealing that he was the source of some revenue booked by the company
For now, it’s still a wait-and-see game — with all eyes on what Silver will do once the investigation is completed.
“I certainly hear and read things all the time about the perception of what really happened or didn’t happen here, and my only reaction is I think I wouldn’t be doing my job if ultimately I issue the determination based on perception,” Silver said. “My job is to follow the facts, and what essentially happens here is that … findings will be made by this independent firm. That’s presented to me. It’s then ultimately my role to determine what the appropriate discipline, if any, should be meted out based on their findings.
“So it’s sort of two independent processes there, and that’s what’s happening right now.”
