Report - Kawhi Leonard paid after Clippers partner's investment - ESPN

A limited partner with the LA Clippers reportedly sent nearly $2 million to a now-bankrupt company that allegedly gave Kawhi Leonard an endorsement deal for a «no-show job» less than 10 days before the star forward was paid $1.75 million by the company, the podcast «Pablo Torre Finds Out» reported Thursday.

The company, Aspiration, reportedly agreed to a $28 million endorsement deal with Leonard in 2021. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million through his personal LLC in September 2021, and the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with Aspiration two weeks later. Torre reported that Leonard agreed to a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal in April 2022 — nine months after he re-signed with the Clippers.

On Thursday, Torre reported that Dennis J. Wong, a Clippers limited partner, invested $1.99 million in Aspiration nine days before the company made a $1.75 million payment to Leonard. The payment to Leonard was late, according to the payment schedule, as the company was reportedly having financial troubles before ultimately declaring bankruptcy.

The NBA is investigating whether Ballmer and the Clippers violated league rules because Leonard accepted the deal.

On Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said it would be up to the NBA to prove wrongdoing by the Clippers.

«I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges,» Silver said during his annual news conference at the conclusion of the league's board of governors meetings.

The allegations first came out last week when an unnamed person who purportedly worked for Aspiration told Torre that the deal with Leonard «was to circumvent the salary cap.»