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The owner of Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer, suggested that he would welcome the NBA watching more closely if another franchise was accused of having tried to circumvent the strict parameters of strict salary of the league.
“I would like the investigation league, to take it seriously,” Ballmer told ESPN on Thursday. “The rules for bypassing the salary ceiling are important for the League, and I would like the investigation league.”
On Wednesday, the NBA confirmed that a survey was underway. The league is “aware of the media report this morning concerning the clippers and [is] Upon entering an investigation, “said NBA spokesperson Mike Bass in a statement.
Ballmer said he was “embarrassed” and knew “sadness” in the midst of the personality of the sports media and the report of Podcaster Pablo Torre who said that he and the Clippers elected the NBA’s salary ceiling policies when Kawhi Leonard recognized with Los Angeles in 2021.
“We have done things through the book,” said a categorical ballmer.
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The owner of Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer, is accused of having tried to bypass the NBA salary ceiling with a payment of $ 28 million in Kawhi Leonard. (Imagn)
Torre reported that the Clippers had facilitated a non-presentation approval agreement for the double MVP of the NBA final. The agreement, with aspiration Partners Inc., has increased an estimated value at $ 28 million. Aspiration, a “green” financial service company, has since filed a bankruptcy.
The company’s logo was presented on a Jersey Clippers patch after reaching a sponsorship agreement of $ 300 million in 2021, Los Angeles Business Journal reported at the time. Ballmer was also one of the company’s investors.
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Ballmer admitted that the aspiration had asked to be presented to Leonard, but denied that he was aware of the approval agreement that the parties finally signed. Ballmer has also clearly indicated that the company operated under its direction.
Despite the reported of several million dollars, Leonard has never been required to carry out services for the company.
A detailed view of the Los Angeles Clippers logo at Center runs before the match against Oklahoma City Thunder in Intuit Dome on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Leonard and the Clippers reached a four -year contract extension which would have been $ 173 million in August 2021. Ballmer noted that Leonard was not initiated at the aspiration in November of the same year.
“We are done. We had finished with Kawhi, we finished with suction. The transactions were all locked and loaded,” said Ballmer. “Then they asked to be presented to Kawhi, and according to the rules, we can present our sponsors to our athletes. We simply cannot be involved.
“We made an introduction, it was in early November.”
The owner of Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer, seated on the edge of the court before the match against the Dallas Mavericks in Intuit Dome on April 5, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Kiyoshi Mio / Imagn images)
Ballmer also said that in cooperation with the probe of the Ministry of Justice on the aspiration, journals of the interaction with the company are underway. In August, the co-founder of the aspiration, Joe Sanberg, pleaded guilty to two chiefs of fraud per wire.
“They were guys who committed fraud. Look at, they gave me. They gave me. I made an investment in these guys thinking that it was on the editing, and they sent me at this stage. I do not have the capacity to predict why they could have done everything they did, not to mention the specific contract with Kawhi.”
This is not the first time that the NBA has been investigating Leonard. In 2019, Leonard and his associates, mainly his uncle Dennis Robertson, would have inappropriate teams to the teams during the attacker’s free agency. Athletics reported at the time that Leonard representatives had requested access to private jet, partial property of a franchise and guarantees of out -of -field partnership.
In 2020, Johnny Wilkes filed a complaint increasing accusations on the pursuit of the Leonard clippers to the then free agent. The trial allegedly alleged that the clippers consultant at the time, Jerry West, promised to pay Wilkes $ 2.5 million if he helped the team land Leonard. The trial was finally rejected and the NBA did not penalize the mowers.
Ballmer was invited to comment on the many controversies in which Leonard was involved during his stay with the Clippers.
“I don’t know. I think only because he doesn’t talk about it relatively much, I think there is a lot of mystery around Kawhi. And that is why fans say they are somehow, [or] You know, create a story, if you want. I had an excellent relationship with Kawhi. I got to know him a little. We sit down a few times a year and we are talking about the way the team goes. “”
Leonard appeared in 37 games during the 2024-25 season when he again fought against injuries.
