NBA reportedly has no evidence Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled payments to Kawhi Leonard
Yahoo Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- The NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer found no evidence that Ballmer funneled payments to Kawhi Leonard through team sponsors, though the league is still examining possible rule violations related to player introductions to sponsors and team supervision.
- The Clippers deny any wrongdoing, stating that player introductions to sponsors are common practice and that Leonard handled his own endorsement negotiations without undisclosed compensation or salary-cap circumvention.
- The investigation was prompted by journalist Pablo Torre's reports alleging the Clippers used a sponsor, Aspiration, to pay Leonard $28 million for "no-show jobs," which would violate NBA salary cap rules, but no conclusive evidence has been found.
- The NBA's investigation delayed Kawhi Leonard's trade back to the Toronto Raptors, with the trade put on hold until the league concludes its inquiry; however, the Raptors accepted the risk of any potential penalties, expecting the trade to eventually go through.
- Despite Leonard’s strong performance, the Clippers struggled early in the season and ultimately decided to trade him as he entered the final year of his contract amid ongoing uncertainty from the investigation and team performance.
