Ballmer vehemently denied the charge that the Clippers used Leonard’s Aspiration endorsement to circumvent the NBA salary cap.
Now comes a report that Ballmer made a second, $10 million investment in Aspiration in March, 2023, despite it being clear at that point the company was failing and headed toward bankruptcy.
The company hoped to raise $75 million in fresh money but came up nearly $9 million short.
What is not known is when the payments on Leonard’s endorsement stopped.
He is a creditor in Aspiration’s bankruptcy, seeking $7 million he is still owed.
“Pleusible deniability” has been the Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer’s defense in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap evasion and “no show” endorsement scandal. Ballmer claimed that, like other investors, he was “duped” when he invested $50 million in Aspiration, a green bank that, in 2021, had grown to be a $300 million Clippers team sponsor but is currently bankrupt and has a CEO who has admitted to fraud. Ballmer said he and the team were unaware of Leonard’s $48 million endorsement deal with Aspiration ($28 million in cash, the remaining amount in stock), but that the Clippers terminated their team sponsor relationship with Aspiration after it failed to fulfill its commitments. Ballmer strongly refuted the claim that the Clippers got around the NBA salary cap by using Leonard’s Aspiration endorsement.
And it’s getting harder to believe that argument.
In late 2022, when Aspiration was struggling to make ends meet, Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong invested $2 million in the company. A week later, Leonard received a delayed $1.75 million quarterly endorsement check. This was the second report that followed the first, which was first reported by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.
According to a recent report, Ballmer invested an additional $10 million in Aspiration in March 2023, even though it was already evident that the company was failing and on the verge of going bankrupt. Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic is the source of the report.
According to court documents examined by The Athletic and confirmed by a former Aspiration executive, Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, invested nearly $10 million in the financial technology and sustainability services firm Aspiration in March 2023.
Almost all of the investors in the fundraising round for Ballmer’s 2023 investment were former Aspiration investors, with Wong being the only exception. The business fell short by almost $9 million of the $75 million it had hoped to raise in new funding.
When the payments on Leonard’s endorsement ceased is unknown. He is pursuing the $7 million he is still owed as a creditor in Aspiration’s bankruptcy.
Although Ballmer and the Clippers have not responded to the most recent accusations, their defense is probably the same: Ballmer was making a small personal investment meant to support the business and recover his initial investment, which had nothing to do with Leonard. Ballmer is estimated by Forbes to be worth $153 billion.
It may be all circumstantial evidence, at least from what we see in the media, but it’s easy to make the connection between this most recent report and the overwhelming body of evidence that the Clippers used Aspiration to give Leonard more money than he was under his regular contract. There are brief, straight lines connecting these dots.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated on Wednesday that the league, which has enlisted a law firm to conduct its investigation as a third, impartial party, bears the burden of proof and that he “would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety.”. “”.
In league circles, there is a buzz that many owners share this sentiment, so it feels like more than just an appearance anymore. As a result, Silver will need to take the Clippers to task, which may include suspending team executives, removing future first-round draft picks, fining the team up to $7.5 million, and possibly voiding Leonard’s contract, though that last option is unlikely.
The formal investigation by the NBA is still in progress and is probably going to take some time.
