Those hoping for a quick hammer to be dropped on Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers may end up disappointed.
A resolution to the NBA investigation involving Leonard and the Clippers could take several months, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report revealed Wednesday on an episode of his podcast. In fact, Fischer says that a resolution could take until after the All-Star break in Feb. 2026.
“From my conversations with powers that be on various sides … I’m being told from various people, high-level sources from around the NBA, that they do not expect any resolution to this investigation to come until after the [2026] All-Star Game,” said Fischer.
Interestingly enough, the Clippers are set to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. The festivities for All-Star Weekend will be held at the Clippers’ new state-of-the-art arena, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
Leonard and the Clippers are being investigated by the league after some bombshell accusations broke against them earlier this month, which were first uncovered by sports journalist Pablo Torre. The allegations are that the Clippers supposedly used a sham company (the now-bankrupt technology and sustainability services brand Aspiration) to funnel under-the-table money to Leonard in order to illegally circumvent the NBA salary cap.
Since the initial accusations broke, new alleged evidence has also come to light claiming that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer personally invested in Aspiration multiple times (supposedly even including when the company was known to be having financial difficulties). Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong, Ballmer’s old college roomate, is also alleged to have personally invested in the company under curious circumstances.
Ballmer has maintained that he got “conned” by Aspiration, and the Clippers have also said in public statements of their own that there was no salary cap circumvention and that they were welcoming the NBA’s investigation (which is being spearheaded by the New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz). Meanwhile, opposing NBA executives reportedly want a harsh punishment imposed on the Clippers. Even if that does end up occurring though, it may not come for another five months or so.
