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Ballmer alleged to have paid Kawhi Leonard 28m under the table to avoid the salary cap


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Posted (edited)
1 minute ago, ztejas said:

 

Let's not drag this shit off topic. Especially because y'all are probably about to see an example of a mega billionaire being punished for his hubris. The NBA is a private organization collectively owned by 30 management groups. A healthy majority of that 30 is pissed and wants to stick it to these clowns. 

I deleted, you can delete your quote.  

And believe me, there's nothing more I want here than to see Ballmer punished.

Edited by Chewbacca
Posted
10 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

He was successful because he had a well informed public that valued integrity behind him. Today, even people with the right integrity can’t make a dent in the corruption because the public is stupid, and doesn’t care. 

Today, with instant access to all the information you could want, we have the most ignorant public in history.

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Posted
1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

I deleted, you can delete your quote.  

And believe me, there's nothing more I want here than to see Ballmer punished.

You're gucci I'll take it out of my quote. I'm not trying to be a thread-Nazi. I'd just prefer to stay on topic as much as possible. This story is naturally going to drift a bit and raise larger questions.

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Posted
4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

You're gucci I'll take it out of my quote. I'm not trying to be a thread-Nazi. I'd just prefer to stay on topic as much as possible. This story is naturally going to drift a bit and raise larger questions.

Sorry about that. I just get so frustrated with the state of our country right now, I have no faith a billionaire will face any real repercussions. 

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  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Sorry about that. I just get so frustrated with the state of our country right now, I have no faith a billionaire will face any real repercussions. 

Yeah I’m with you but as stated above this is other billionaires that are pissed at him in the same cozy club.  They couldn’t care less if he has to sell and take a hike.  It’s a very exclusive club and will never cease to be that.  

Edited by ChiTownDoc
  • Like 1
Posted

I know that ESPN stopped housing actual journalists years ago, but to see the influence peddling and lapdog mentality in full view by every one of its employees is disappointing. Pablo Torre might actually inspire true journalistic endeavors from impressionable people in the field and in journalism school (if such a thing exists ). Kid is killing it, and I’m honestly worried for his wellbeing.

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Posted
4 hours ago, Chopper said:

Amazing. Torre went through the bankruptcy filing and then checked the ownership of the random LLC that was the largest recipient of Aspire's funds. The story could have died right there but Uncle whatever listed his name as the owner of the LLC instead of figuring out how to do it anonymously.

LOL, it was called KL2.   There werent even trying to hide it.

Posted
2 hours ago, Kermit said:

I know that ESPN stopped housing actual journalists years ago, but to see the influence peddling and lapdog mentality in full view by every one of its employees is disappointing. Pablo Torre might actually inspire true journalistic endeavors from impressionable people in the field and in journalism school (if such a thing exists ). Kid is killing it, and I’m honestly worried for his wellbeing.

Especially when he was very recently their colleague.   Its utter bullshit that they are just pushing him off as "some podcaster"

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Posted
2 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Yeah I’m with you but as stated above this is other billionaires that are pissed at him in the same cozy club. They couldn’t care less if he has to sell and take a hike. It’s a very exclusive club and will never cease to be that.

Except they're not in the same club as Ballmer. Not really. He's worth 6x more than Dan Gilbert, the 2nd wealthiest owner. 

It would be like me trying to kick you out of my very exclusive club.

We'll see.

Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Yeah I’m with you but as stated above this is other billionaires that are pissed at him in the same cozy club.  They couldn’t care less if he has to sell and take a hike.  It’s a very exclusive club and will never cease to be that.  

Until I see a statement from another owner I'm not really buying the "other owners are pissed" stuff anyway

Edited by d2o
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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

Except they're not in the same club as Ballmer. Not really. He's worth 6x more than Dan Gilbert, the 2nd wealthiest owner. 

It would be like me trying to kick you out of my very exclusive club.

We'll see.

The club is the club.  If you think Balmer is able to use his billions to cause pain - yes.   Will he?  Imo no.  See gifs above 

Edited by ChiTownDoc
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Posted
50 minutes ago, d2o said:

Until I see a statement from another owner I'm not really buying the "other owners are pissed" stuff anyway

Okay - bro. The other owners are absolutely pissed off. Unless you know more than Zach Lowe does. Your take on this has been wrong from the beginning and I tried to check you on it early but you keep doubling down. Give it a rest.

3 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Yeah I’m with you but as stated above this is other billionaires that are pissed at him in the same cozy club.  They couldn’t care less if he has to sell and take a hike.  It’s a very exclusive club and will never cease to be that.  

 

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

Except they're not in the same club as Ballmer. Not really. He's worth 6x more than Dan Gilbert, the 2nd wealthiest owner. 

It would be like me trying to kick you out of my very exclusive club.

We'll see.

 

12 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

The club is the club.  If you think Balmer is able to use his billions to cause pain - yes.   Will he?  Imo no.  See gifs above 

Both of you are like half-right. This shit goes in both directions. Here is why this is a very big deal that goes above typical buddy-buddy ownership protection:

- Steve Balmer is by far the wealthiest owner in the NBA. You already have 29 other dudes pissed off at the very simple fact that he has more money than they do.

- Balmer only carries 1/30th of the vote. He is in a very exclusive club - but it's a club in which his net worth doesn't move the needle all that much.

- This is not a widespread practice in the NBA. I promise you - it isn't. This idea needs to die in a fire. Maybe James Dolan is doing it, too. If so he better start shredding some files. The gap in value between teams like the Lakers and teams like the Grizzlies is MASSIVE. The ownership group in Memphis does not have $50M sitting around that they can throw at free agents the way that Balmer did. That is why Silver is going to be forced to drop the hammer on this shit. That is why the leading law firm in America was just hired.

- This rule - very specifically - carries extremely punitive consequences for breaking it. This was a highlighted focus of the last NBA CBA. 

Think of the NBA like a high-stakes poker game. Balmer - the guy with the most money out of everyone - basically just bought in again for free. The other players around the circle aren't going to stand for that shit. The ultimate goal is that you win an NBA championship. That's hard to do when some dickhead worth $200B is circumventing the rules. 

Posted
19 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Okay - bro. The other owners are absolutely pissed off. Unless you know more than Zach Lowe does. Your take on this has been wrong from the beginning and I tried to check you on it early but you keep doubling down. Give it a rest.

LMAO!!!   Dude who the fuck do you think you are?  Check me"   LMAO GTFOH

  • Haha 1
Posted
47 minutes ago, d2o said:

LMAO!!!   Dude who the fuck do you think you are?  Check me"   LMAO GTFOH

I mean you're wrong about everything that you're saying. 

If you want to get all in your feelings about it that's fine. 

Posted

I think Ballmer will get that 7.5m fine, the largest in NBA history, because that's chump change to him and also makes it look like the league did something. He can cry about how persecuted he was by being fined the most in history for something he didn't really even know about, but it's done and let's move on! 

I think Kawhi might get thrown under the bus, because he's expendable and doesn't really play much. He's a fucking robot of a human, so I doubt he has many friends in the league willing to cover for him. A 1 year suspension and canceling his current contract should be on the table at minimum, since he stood to gain the most from this bullshit arrangement. Taking away his current contract would be a huge loss to him and Dennis. 

Uncle Dennis should absolutely be banned from representing NBA players, which is something the league can do in concert with the NBAPA. You can't represent NBA players without their consent and abiding by their rules, which these actions clearly violate. He won't get that 3% commission any more, which would be cool. If they could find a way to send Dennis to Federal prison too, I don't think anyone would mind besides him. Anyways, fuck all these guys, and fuck Dolan too. 

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Posted
On 9/6/2025 at 4:19 AM, immamac said:

You guys are hilarious. Nothing is gonna happen. 

When was the last time one of these big "scandals" actually resulted in anything.  

This reminds me of the great college basketball shoe scandal with all those federal wire taps.

Damn shame what happened to Kansas . 

Posted
23 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

I think Ballmer will get that 7.5m fine, the largest in NBA history, because that's chump change to him and also makes it look like the league did something. He can cry about how persecuted he was by being fined the most in history for something he didn't really even know about, but it's done and let's move on! 

I think Kawhi might get thrown under the bus, because he's expendable and doesn't really play much. He's a fucking robot of a human, so I doubt he has many friends in the league willing to cover for him. A 1 year suspension and canceling his current contract should be on the table at minimum, since he stood to gain the most from this bullshit arrangement. Taking away his current contract would be a huge loss to him and Dennis. 

Uncle Dennis should absolutely be banned from representing NBA players, which is something the league can do in concert with the NBAPA. You can't represent NBA players without their consent and abiding by their rules, which these actions clearly violate. He won't get that 3% commission any more, which would be cool. If they could find a way to send Dennis to Federal prison too, I don't think anyone would mind besides him. Anyways, fuck all these guys, and fuck Dolan too. 

yv9ctenp9nd71.png?width=640&crop=smart&a

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Posted (edited)
On 9/6/2025 at 4:19 AM, immamac said:

You guys are hilarious. Nothing is gonna happen. 

 

6 hours ago, PGFrog said:

When was the last time one of these big "scandals" actually resulted in anything.  

This reminds me of the great college basketball shoe scandal with all those federal wire taps.

Damn shame what happened to Kansas . 

Glad the resident NBA experts are chiming in. 

Toss BO&W in there too I guess. I have him on ignore so I missed it.

Edited by ztejas
Posted
1 hour ago, ztejas said:

 

Glad the resident NBA experts are chiming in. 

Toss BO&W in there too I guess. I have him on ignore so I missed it.

NBA isn't some special thing. 

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Posted
9 minutes ago, immamac said:

NBA isn't some special thing. 

It kind of is. It is by far the biggest, most lucrative basketball league in the world. It is privately owned. The 30 team owners have a fairly equitable say in what happens. 

The Clippers are in a serious amount of trouble. Despite more and more posters here trying to write this off. 

Posted
7 hours ago, ztejas said:

The Clippers are in a serious amount of trouble. Despite more and more posters here trying to write this off.

Are posters writing this off as an unserious offense, or are they skeptical that the NBA will levy a punishment harsh enough for Ballmer and Kawhi to really feel? Pretty big difference.

Posted
22 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Are posters writing this off as an unserious offense, or are they skeptical that the NBA will levy a punishment harsh enough for Ballmer and Kawhi to really feel? Pretty big difference.

I couldn't tell you and I'm also kind of over discussing it at this point. I've said what I have to say on the matter. 

Posted
53 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Are posters writing this off as an unserious offense, or are they skeptical that the NBA will levy a punishment harsh enough for Ballmer and Kawhi to really feel? Pretty big difference.

I think there will be some significant punishment for this...

Now let me head over to ESPN Bet and put $500 down on it.

  • Haha 3
Posted
33 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Lowe thinks it's most likely the NBA calls it a "gray area" and turns a blind eye and just gives a slap on the wrist

https://streamable.com/vgltre

Shit is gonna become basically NIL's but for pro athletes so owners can get around salary caps. Wild if it goes that way

No Idea Idk GIF by Muppet Wiki
 

i hope he’s wrong, but whatever. I’m guessing he’s not the only one.

Posted (edited)
48 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Lowe thinks it's most likely the NBA calls it a "gray area" and turns a blind eye and just gives a slap on the wrist

https://streamable.com/vgltre

Shit is gonna become basically NIL's but for pro athletes so owners can get around salary caps. Wild if it goes that way

Salary cap is basically only there in name only then

You sign your stars for less than the max, so you can still fill out your roster, and make up the money in a sham endorsement deal after you "invested" exactly that amount into the endorsing company

Edited by Js1
Posted
19 hours ago, ztejas said:

 

Glad the resident NBA experts are chiming in. 

Toss BO&W in there too I guess. I have him on ignore so I missed it.

So the answer is not a fucking thing happened.  

Posted
3 hours ago, Captainant said:

Lowe thinks it's most likely the NBA calls it a "gray area" and turns a blind eye and just gives a slap on the wrist

https://streamable.com/vgltre

Shit is gonna become basically NIL's but for pro athletes so owners can get around salary caps. Wild if it goes that way

That isn't what Lowe said at all. 

5 minutes ago, PGFrog said:

So the answer is not a fucking thing happened.  

I'm gonna stand by my guns on this one - TCU Tammy. 

I think the Clippers are about to get fucked. 

Posted
3 hours ago, Captainant said:

Lowe thinks it's most likely the NBA calls it a "gray area" and turns a blind eye and just gives a slap on the wrist

https://streamable.com/vgltre

Shit is gonna become basically NIL's but for pro athletes so owners can get around salary caps. Wild if it goes that way

giphy.gif

  • Haha 1
Posted

Lowe said it’s going to be a months long process, but in the end the Clippers probably get out there with a small fine and maybe a second round draft pick gets ripped. His sports attorney guest concurred. 

Unless… there’s a smoking gun linking the Clippers. 

Posted
On 9/4/2025 at 8:37 AM, immamac said:

Its sad that there's just no accountability at all for anything if you have enough money or if it's enough money to be hard to deal with. 

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Posted

https://www.theringer.com/2025/09/09/nba/kawhi-leonard-los-angeles-clippers-steve-ballmer-aspiration-salary-cap-circumvention

Teams sometimes connect players with team sponsors or local businesses to help facilitate an individual endorsement deal—a practice that is indeed common and fully within the rules. Stephen Curry, for instance, does commercials for Rakuten, which has a sponsorship deal with the Golden State Warriors. The HEB supermarket chain, a longtime sponsor of the San Antonio Spurs, has long employed Spurs players to star in its cheeky TV commercials.

But these sorts of deals generally pay in the hundreds of thousands or, at most, “the low six figures,” per multiple sources, and they require the players to actively promote the brand—via commercials, appearances, or social media posts.

According to Torre’s reporting, however, Leonard’s deal with Aspiration did not require him to do anything—and Leonard, by all appearances, indeed did nothing. Yet Aspiration agreed to pay him $28 million, of which it still owes $7 million, per the bankruptcy filing. Leonard also had a side deal with the company providing an additional $20 million in (now worthless) stock, according to the Boston Sports Journal. Also of note: The entire deal would be void if Leonard changed teams, according to documents reviewed by Torre.

None of this is normal, according to people around the league. “It reeks,” said a former player who has also worked in a variety of front office roles. The dollar figures alone are “extreme,” said another former team executive, who added that the “no-show” element was “a huge red flag” and “smells the most in this whole thing.”

No one we spoke to said that they had ever witnessed or even heard whispers of anything quite like this during their years working in the NBA. This is a cynical league in which a number of below-market contracts for star players have raised suspicions over the past two decades. But an assertion that “everyone is doing it” was emphatically dismissed.

“Everyone is doing it?!” said one current team executive, adding, with a laugh, “No. Everyone is not funneling $48 million under the table through sham sponsorships.”

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Posted

I listened to the Pablo/Mark Cuban conversation, and I have to say I'm not really moved by Mark's assessment of the situation. He gives the example of how he has been scammed in the past in other business deals, how someone you trust may be working with someone else, and it lets your guard down on the due diligence, which may be the case with these Aspiration guys being so well connected.  I don't really buy that argument, as Ballmer invested in this company several times, and made them the team's sponsor in a $300 million deal. They had to do some work investigating the people and the business before striking that deal.  

Mark also says Ballmer is like Warren Buffett in his being a smart finance and investor guy, and that being so obvious with the quid pro quo here would make no sense. It would be unbelievably stupid to do so in such a blatant and sloppy manner, that it couldn't possibly be him involved in it.  Basically Ballmer is too smart to do something this dumb. I don't buy it, but whatever. 

Pablo brings up the Deandre Jordan episode from way back when he almost went to the Mavs, but backed out of the agreement and went to LA to sign with the Clippers at the last minute. Kind of a funny segment, since this was when someone famously claimed "Mark Cuban is driving around LA looking for Deandre Jordan!!!"  Mark seems to think Ballmer learned his lesson with tampering with that one, and that he wouldn't do it again. I really don't buy that argument, rich people love to break the rules and use their wealth as a "get out of jail free" card. 

Mark says multiple times that if you can prove that Ballmer knew about this deal and funded it to any degree, that "He's Toast!" That the league would not allow that, and that the penalty would be severe. He doesn't believe there will be a smoking gun found between them, and I agree with that. I don't think Ballmer has a paper trail to him or the Clippers execs regarding this endorsement, it's just too poorly constructed to be done by anyone that knows what they are doing.  It is much more likely to be an Uncle Dennis/Kawhi deal on the side that the team may or may not have known about. But that's the real issue here, linking the Clippers in any way to making this deal happen, or knowing that an absurd amount of money was going to their star player. Hard to think they wouldn't have found out at some point, and just left it alone, but it's possible. Anyways, I hope they all get the book thrown at them, and then Dolan and whoever owns the Nets next.  

 

 

 

Posted

More contemporaneous reporting that make it seem like this is really an under the table deal full of fuckery: (reposting from the NBA subreddit)

https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/inside-kawhi-leonard-s-bizarre-list-of-secret-demands-from-raptors-and-how-they-line/article_9f1b0398-0ebd-4193-bc06-798efda95023.html

Key passages:

But multiple sources with knowledge of Toronto’s contract negotiations with Leonard in 2019 told the Star that Leonard’s uncle and representative, Dennis Robertson, made demands that line up almost perfectly with what Leonard reportedly got from Aspiration. According to those sources, who were granted anonymity in order to speak freely about the negotiations, Robertson’s list was long, and absurd. It included a trade for George, which featured an exorbitant price tag. It included a slice of ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which Robertson was told was impossible.

But two details stand out, in retrospect. One, Robertson asked for ownership stakes in outside companies: not just the Leafs, which he seemed to believe was separate, but with other companies with whom MLSE had a relationship. And two, the Raptors were told they needed to match at least $10 million per year in extra sponsorship income. Teams are allowed to introduce players to team sponsors; teams cannot negotiate deals, and MLSE was aware of that fact.

But it didn’t end there. As one source put it, when told about all the corporate sponsors in Toronto who would be happy to have Leonard as a pitchman, his camp said, “We don’t want to do anything.” Raptors representatives said any sponsor would want to shoot ads or arrange appearances; Robertson reiterated Leonard didn’t want to do anything for the money.

That’s when the Raptors realized Leonard wasn’t asking to be introduced to Toronto’s lucrative corporate community; they were being asked to arrange no-show jobs, and arrange no-investment investments. MLSE rejected both proposals.

Posted

For me, there are four things that stand out that make this so egregious:

  1. The termination of the deal if Kawhi didn't play for the Clippers
  2. The no show element of the contract where he got paid for doing nothing, especially with the crazy number of dollars involved
  3. The $48 million total amount was equivalent to the $50 million Ballmer invested in the company
  4. The allegations of Uncle Dennis and his team asking for under the table deals and endorsement guarantees when Kawhi was a free agent. You already knew they were unscrupulous from the way they handled that plus their dealings with the Spurs.

There are just too many coincidences for me to believe that this is anything other than a blatant move to circumvent the salary cap. I don't think that the league can sweep all of this under the rug so to me the bigger question is, what are they going to do about it? If David Stern were still commissioner, there would be hell to pay. I don't know that Silver has the balls to do administer such a beatdown.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

For me, there are four things that stand out that make this so egregious:

  1. The termination of the deal if Kawhi didn't play for the Clippers
  2. The no show element of the contract where he got paid for doing nothing, especially with the crazy number of dollars involved
  3. The $48 million total amount was equivalent to the $50 million Ballmer invested in the company
  4. The allegations of Uncle Dennis and his team asking for under the table deals and endorsement guarantees when Kawhi was a free agent. You already knew they were unscrupulous from the way they handled that plus their dealings with the Spurs.

There are just too many coincidences for me to believe that this is anything other than a blatant move to circumvent the salary cap. I don't think that the league can sweep all of this under the rug so to me the bigger question is, what are they going to do about it? If David Stern were still commissioner, there would be hell to pay. I don't know that Silver has the balls to do administer such a beatdown.

Adam Silver is what Rick Santorum was accused of being (use Urban Dictionary, I ain’t posting what Santorum is here). They’ll never have a Stern again, because these dudes want a patsy (see Roger Goodell).

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