Article by Tudor Belivaca – published on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, 22:44 / Updated Wednesday, September 3, 2025:44, photo: Imago
The star of Los Angeles Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, would have received $ 28 million from the club “under the table”, says the American investigative journalist Pablo Torre. The amount was received in 2022.
According to Torre, documents he holds show that Leonard received the amount from a landscaping company, which in turn was financed by $ 50 million by owner Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer.
The purpose of the operation was to bypass the salary ceiling in NBA for Leonard to collect an additional amount of money that would not pass through the club.
Serious Accusations: At Clippers the salary ceiling in the NBA would have through a landscape company
This is the company “Aspiration” that Steve Ballmer has financed in 2021 with $ 50 million. The company went bankrupt in March and was accused of tax fraud, according to foxsports.com. The company has debts of 7 million to the company KL2 Aspire LLC, a company to which Leonard is a manager. The company managed by the NBA star is on the list of “Aspiration” creditors.
The club reacted to the British publish The Athletic in a statement.
Neither Mr. Ballmer, neither Clippers bypassed the salary ceiling and did not engage in any deviation from aspiration.
Any contrary statement is demonstrated false: the team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during season 2022-23, when Aspiration did not fulfill its obligations. Neither Clippers, nor Mr. Ballmer were not aware of any inappropriate activity from Aspiration or its co -founder until the government initiated the investigation.
The team and Mr. Ballmer are ready to assist law enforcement in any way possible.
-Comunicate to Clippers
However, such a practice is absolutely forbidden by the NBA regulations. At the end of the last century, in a case similar to Joe Smith, the Minnesota Timberwolves team was deprived of five elections in the first round of the draft, fined millions of dollars, the club officials were sanctioned, and Smith's contract was canceled, having to sign with another team. According to FOX, if at Clippers it will be found guilty, it risks the same sanctions: loss of an election and a total payment of about $ 4.5 million.
NBA said that it will start an investigation in this case.
Leonard, 34 years old, has participated six times at the All Star Game, won the championship twice, was twice the “MVP of the final” and was included three times in the “Ideal Season”. He was also selected among the best 75 players in NBA history.
The current official contract of Kawhi Leonard with Los Angeles Clippers, which expires in the summer of 2027, is for a period of three seasons, totaling $ 150 million.
