Ballmer-funded endorsement alleged to circumvent NBA salary cap

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and team owner Steve Ballmer are facing fresh allegations that a Ballmer-funded endorsement payment was used to circumvent the NBA salary cap, according to an investigation published this week by investigative journalist Pablo Torre. The report says Leonard received as much as 28 million dollars through a company tied to him while the recipient firm, Aspiration, later filed for bankruptcy, renewing scrutiny of the blockbuster free agent signing that helped reshape the Western Conference in 2019.

Torre’s investigation cites bankruptcy filings and internal documents showing a 28 million legal agreement between Aspiration and KL2 Aspire LLC, a company identified as belonging to Leonard. The filings list KL2 Aspire as a creditor owed roughly 7 million after Aspiration’s collapse. Torre also interviewed former Aspiration employees, one of whom said staff were told the marketing arrangement was intended to help the Clippers “circumvent the salary cap” and that Leonard performed no work for the company.

The Clippers issued an emphatic denial. In a statement provided to the journalist the team said, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers...