Torre: Key Phrases Missing in Clippers’ Pushback on Kawhi Deal

The Clippers issued an expanded statement Wednesday denying that the organization or owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the NBA’s salary cap. The team said it was “absurd” to suggest Ballmer invested in sustainable service company Aspiration to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard.

“There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong,” the statement, shared by ESPN’s Shams Charania, read, in part.

The Clippers also said that neither the organization nor Ballmer was aware of fraudulent activity by Aspiration or its cofounder Joe Sanberg, who pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud last month. Aspiration was a team sponsor for two seasons (2021–22 and 2022–23) “before defaulting on its contract.”

However, Pablo Torre, host of Pablo Torre Finds Out, which published the podcast episode investigating the Clippers, has some questions about the content of the statement.

Torre posted on X that the Clippers’ new statement did not include the phrase that the allegations were “provably false,” which was in the original statement the organization issued to Torre on Tuesday, the day before the podcast episode was published.

He also questioned what the team meant when it said Ballmer and the organization did not have any “oversight” of Leonard’s deal with Aspiration.

The NBA issued its own statement Wednesday saying it has commenced an investigation following Torre’s report. 

Endorsement deals are allowed under the league’s CBA, though circumvention of the salary cap may be evaluated when the compensation “is substantially in excess of the fair market value of any services.” 

Torre’s reporting, which included conversations with seven former Aspiration employees, said that Leonard was paid $28 million over four years despite not fulfilling any endorsements for Aspiration. He was also paid exponentially more than Aspiration’s other celebrity endorsers.

Mark Cuban Weighs In

Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban quote-tweeted Torre’s report, saying he is on “Team Ballmer.” He pointed the finger at Aspiration for being a “scammer.” 

“It’s sad that @PabloTorre didn’t take the time to find out how these scammers pulled off their scam. The idea that the default is Ballmer is the bad guy is going to back fire on him,” Cuban posted.

Torre then responded to Cuban, asking whether he wanted to come on his show to discuss the reporting and answer some questions as well. On Thursday, Cuban posted again, thanking Torre for having him on: “How long did we talk, almost 3 hours ? Really enjoyed it.”

Torre was previously called out by Bill Simmons for reporting on Bill Belichick, Jordon Hudson, and UNC—and appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast a week later to discuss his reporting.