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Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer suggests he welcomes the NBA to take a closer look if another franchise is accused Try to bypass Alliance strict salary cap parameters.
“I hope the league will investigate and take it seriously.” Ballmer tells ESPN Thursday. “The rules for wage cap regulations are important to the league and I hope the league will investigate.”
On Wednesday, the NBA confirmed that an investigation was underway. League “Know the media report about the LA Clippers this morning [is] NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
Ballmer said he felt “embarrassed” and experienced “sadness” in the consequences of sports media figures and podcaster Pablo Torre’s report, which asserted Ballmer, and Kawhi Leonard claimed Ballmer and the Clippers escaped the NBA’s salary cap strategy when he re-signed with Los Angeles in 2021.
“We did something with this book,” said a determined Ballmer.
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Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is accused of trying to pay Kawhi Leonard for $28 million in an attempt to bypass the NBA’s salary cap. (Imagn)
Torre reported that the Clippers provided an unseen recognition agreement for the two-time NBA finals MVP. The transaction with Aspration Partners Inc. is estimated to be worth $28 million. “Green” financial services company Grassation has since filed for bankruptcy.
The company’s logo appears in the Clippers jersey patch after hitting $300 million in 2021 sponsorship agreement Los Angeles Business Magazine Reported at that time. Ballmer is also one of the company’s investors.
Ballmer admits to introduce ambitions Go to Leonard But he denied that he knew the endorsement agreement between the two countries. Ballmer also made it clear that the company operates under his guidance.
Despite the multi-million dollar deals reported, Leonard never actually needed to provide anything to the company.
Los Angeles Clippers’ logo on Central Field and then in a game against Oklahoma City Thunderbolt on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Leonard and Clippers According to reports, a four-year contract extension was reached in August 2021, worth $173 million. Ballmer noted that Leonard was not introduced to ambition until November of the same year.
“We’ve done it. We’ve done it with Kawhi. We’ve done it. We’ve done the ambitions. These deals are all locked and loaded,” Ballmer said. “Then they did ask that it was introduced to Kawhi, and according to the rules, we can introduce the sponsors to the athletes. We can’t get involved.
“We made an introduction. It was early November.”
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sat in court before his April 5, 2025 game against the Dallas Mavericks against the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. (kiyoshi mio/imagn image)
Ballmer also said that a review of interaction with the company is underway in cooperation with the Justice Department’s investigation aspirations. August, Aspiration Co-founder Joe Thunberg pleads guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
“These guys committed fraud. Look, they kidnapped me. They kidnapped me. I invested in these guys and thought it was in getting up and they kidnapped me at this stage. I don’t have the ability to predict anything they would do, let alone a specific contract with Kawhi.”
This is not the first time the NBA has investigated Leonard. In 2019, Leonard and his colleagues, mostly his uncle Dennis Robertson, allegedly had misappropriate appeals to the team during the small forward free agent agency. The Games reported at the time that Leonard’s representatives requested private jet access, which was partly owned by the franchise and off-site cooperation.
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In 2020, Johnny Wilkes filed a lawsuit, filing allegations that the Clippers pursued Leonard at the time without agent. The lawsuit says that then-tailing consultant Jerry West promised that he would pay Wilkes $2.5 million if he helped his team Land Leonard. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and the NBA did not punish the Clippers.
Ballmer was asked to comment on the many controversies that Leonard had been involved with the Clippers.
“I don’t know. I think, because he’s not saying much, I think there are a lot of mysteries around Kawhi. That’s probably why fans tell themselves, [or] You know, if you want, create a narrative. I have a good relationship with Kawhi. I already know him a little. We sat a few times a year and just talked about the team’s performance. ”
Leonard played 37 games in the 2024-25 season while fighting injuries.
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