NBA disputes ESPN report of cap investigation findings
By Cael Cross, September 1, 2026
The NBA criticized ESPN’s report of the investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers’ circumventing cap space in an official statement Aug. 17.
The statement came hours after ESPN released its article, stating the NBA found no evidence of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer transferring money through sponsors to pay all-star forward Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap.
“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” said Mike Bass, NBA Chief Communications Officer, in the statement. “The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”
The investigation stretches back to September 2025 when Ballmer and the Clippers were first accused of circumventing the salary cap by podcaster and former ESPN contributor Pablo Torre.
On Torre’s podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” he explained Leonard signed a 4-year, $28 million endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt company Aspiration, which also had a close relation and a nine-figure deal with the Clippers, citing multiple documents provided by inside sources at the company. An anonymous source from Aspiration told Torre the deal was the largest Aspiration had ever made, and if any questions arose about it, they were told “it was to circumvent the salary cap.”
Aspiration held previous relationships with celebrities such as Drake, Robert Downey Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio, who all made public appearances or statements endorsing the company. When it came to Leonard’s deal, he never made any public references with or about the company, essentially having no relation with Aspiration outside of the contract, according to Torre.
“It’s just funny when the absence of evidence becomes the evidence,” Torre said. “That’s what an endorsement deal would force us to reckon with. That feels like clearly something, even though it’s definitionally nothing.”
Torre released additional information Aug. 6 about an undisclosed multi-million sponsorship deal Leonard agreed with Daktronics, a scoreboard manufacturing company that designed the Clippers videoboard in Intuit Dome.
The Clippers released a statement following the initial accusations to The Athletic, denying any actions of salary cap bypassing.
“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary-cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” the Clippers said in the statement. “Any contrary assertion is provably false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation.”
Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 and co-founder Joseph Sandberg plead guilty to defrauding investors and lenders out of $248 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
NBA fans are still skeptical about Ballmer’s involvement, despite his denials, because of his close history with Aspiration. Official documents collected by Torre stated Ballmer invested $50 million into the company in September 2021, the same month that the Clippers signed a $300 million partnership, and an additional $10 million in March 2023.
In a letter written by his attorney in April, Ballmer stated he lost his entire $60 million investment and was “flagrantly defrauded” by Sandberg and Aspiration.
The investigation has also halted a trade between the Clippers and the Toronto Raptors centered around Leonard. The deal, agreed upon June 30, sent Leonard to Toronto in return for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and future draft capital, but got suspended nine days later.
The Clippers told ESPN in a statement the trade could only be completed if the Raptors were to assume the penalties related to Leonard from the investigation if found guilty. The Raptors also released a statement saying they are going to wait until the NBA’s investigation has concluded, rather than taking any assumed risk.
The situation has put the Raptors’ future in limbo, as their entire roster reconstruction from this offseason relies on the trade going through.
Debates have sparked online about whether star players have taken pay cuts in the past to receive more money under the table, but NBA fan and economics student Kai Moriya doesn’t share the same sentiment.
“The one I could think of is Jalen Brunson and that was for the betterment of the team,” Moriya said. “Kawhi’s was more of him receiving more money for himself.”
While end dates as late as 2027 have been reported, NBA insider Baxter Holmes reported the NBA Board of Governors will meet in mid-September to reach a resolution of the investigation.
Feature image courtesy of the Los Angeles Clippers
