Clippers face NBA probe into Kawhi Leonard salary-cap issue

The Los Angeles Clippers enter the 2025-26 season with a retooled roster and high expectations on the court, but an ongoing NBA investigation into alleged salary cap circumvention tied to Kawhi Leonard and owner Steve Ballmer has clouded the franchise's offseasons and could shape its near-term future. The team opens the season Oct. 22 against the Utah Jazz as it tries to balance championship hopes with an intensifying league inquiry.

On the court, the Clippers backed into the playoffs in 2024-25, finishing 50-32 and fifth in the Western Conference before stretching a first-round series against the Denver Nuggets to seven games and falling 101-120 in Game 7. This offseason the club added Bradley Beal, John Collins and Brook Lopez and welcomed Chris Paul back to a veteran-laden bench, moves designed to support James Harden and a healthier Kawhi Leonard.

Off court, the NBA is investigating allegations that the Clippers used a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration to route payments to Leonard in a manner that would avoid salary-cap accounting. The matter came into public view after reporting that Clippers executives had engaged with the company, and that those arrangements may have...