NBA Nears End of Clippers Salary Cap Probe Involving Leonard

The National Basketball Association is nearing the conclusion of a lengthy investigation into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented league salary cap rules through an endorsement deal involving star forward Kawhi Leonard. Commissioner Adam Silver stated this week that the independent probe is far along and that the league needs to bring it to a close.

The investigation centers on allegations that the Clippers facilitated a four-year, $28 million marketing agreement between Leonard and Aspiration, a banking firm, that reportedly required little or no promotional work from the player. The concern is whether this arrangement constituted improper, undisclosed compensation outside the constraints of the league’s salary cap. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had made personal investments in Aspiration, and the team itself had a major sponsorship agreement with the company.

NBA investigators have recently interviewed Leonard, his uncle and business adviser Dennis Robertson, Ballmer, and other top Clippers executives, according to reports. The league retained the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the outside investigation. Silver emphasized that while the league is...