The LA Clippers are denying any wrongdoing in an official statement released amid this week’s allegations against star player Kawhi Leonard and owner Steve Ballmer.
A bombshell report by journalist Pablo Torre came out Wednesday alleging that the Clippers and Ballmer used a phony deal with Aspiration, a celebrity-endorsed tree company, in order to circumvent the NBA salary cap and be able to sign Leonard back in 2019 free agency. Aspiration, which was an official sponsor of the Clippers from 2021-23, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Torre says that he was able to obtain documents detailing the alleged deal between Leonard and the company courtesy of several former Aspiration employees.
You can read the full details of Torre’s report here.
On Wednesday night, the Clippers released a strong statement on the allegations. They denied circumventing the salary cap and called the claims “absurd.” The Clippers also stated that Aspiration engaged in “market manipulation” and “defrauded” Ballmer and others prior to the company filing for bankruptcy.
The statement noted as well that Aspiration’s co-founder Joseph Sanberg recently pleaded guilty to a $243 million fraud and that the Clippers’ sponsorship agreement with Aspiration was terminated as a result of the company “defaulting on its contract.” You can read the full statement by the Clippers here.
Clippers statement: pic.twitter.com/2nZR75JCTo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 4, 2025
The six-time All-Star Leonard, now 34 years old, is about to enter his sixth season with the Clippers. The bombshell allegations against him led to many fans making jokes over social media on Wednesday.
The NBA has announced that it is launching an investigation into the situation, which could also end up ensnaring some other NBA teams. For the Clippers specifically, they will be facing a variety of potential punishments (from a significant fine to the loss of draft picks) if the league determines that they committed any wrongdoing here.
