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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
51 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

I think people would give more of a shit about this if getting Kawhi had done anything positive for the Clippers. Now it just seems like karma

Agreed, but I am told this is a really big story. 

Posted

I’ve seen a lot of speculation on punishments to the Clippers (fines, loss of draft picks, salary cap holds, owner suspension and/or forced to sell). All I’ve heard about the player is the contract will be voided. WTF? He clearly knew what they were doing. At a minimum he should be fined the amount of the fake NIL payments and/or suspended. Voiding his contract makes him a free agent and theoretically rewards him. NBA needs to send a message to players as well that might try that shit in the future. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I’ve seen a lot of speculation on punishments to the Clippers (fines, loss of draft picks, salary cap holds, owner suspension and/or forced to sell). All I’ve heard about the player is the contract will be voided. WTF? He clearly knew what they were doing. At a minimum he should be fined the amount of the fake NIL payments and/or suspended. Voiding his contract makes him a free agent and theoretically rewards him. NBA needs to send a message to players as well that might try that shit in the future. 

Nah he should be suspended at least a yr along with having his contract voided.    And I dont know how it could be done, but somehow limiting the contract he can get after his suspension is served would be is warranted as well IMO.   He would be 35-36 then with a history of injury and limited desire to actually play so I dont know if a team would be willing to give him another big deal anyway though.

Posted
1 hour ago, d2o said:

Nah he should be suspended at least a yr along with having his contract voided.    And I dont know how it could be done, but somehow limiting the contract he can get after his suspension is served would be is warranted as well IMO.   He would be 35-36 then with a history of injury and limited desire to actually play so I dont know if a team would be willing to give him another big deal anyway though.

Not long before uncle Dennis hits "separate entirely" and runs off with Kawhis money, I'd imagine

Posted
9 hours ago, Murfdogg21 said:

I’ve seen a lot of speculation on punishments to the Clippers (fines, loss of draft picks, salary cap holds, owner suspension and/or forced to sell). All I’ve heard about the player is the contract will be voided. WTF? He clearly knew what they were doing. At a minimum he should be fined the amount of the fake NIL payments and/or suspended. Voiding his contract makes him a free agent and theoretically rewards him. NBA needs to send a message to players as well that might try that shit in the future. 

He's not getting a contract that big in the future, especially with all this stink on him.  The suspension and loss of future guaranteed money is huge, and more than what he got from this endorsement deal.  It will cost him tens of millions, which is a fair penalty for what he did.  He could potentially be suspended for multiple years, or get a lifetime ban, like the guys who were found to be gambling on prop bets of themselves.  We really don't know how impactful it will be until they announce the actual punishment. Kawhi will definitely appeal any judgement to get paid while that plays out too, so we may be in for a few more months of this saga. 

Posted
50 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Pablo drops part 5 of the Balmer Chronicles on the morning of the NBA Media Day. Diabolical. 

Can't wait for the next chapter in Mark Cuban's book "Weird Hills to Die On"

 

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Posted
2 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

 

so, 'cubes DEFINITELY is doing or has done the same kind of shit then right? I just don't understand stanning for Ballmer for any other reason

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Posted (edited)

Man, Pablo has RECEIPTS, this is from Joe Sanberg (Aspiration co-founder) 

image.thumb.png.4ea8f8464985caddc65044a8d3e01d4a.png

 

edit: wow holy shit, Ballmer """donated""" $1,875,000 to Sandberg's foundation in 2024 - AFTER Aspiration went under and the Clippers partnership ended and Ballmer claims that he was "hoodwinked and bamboozled" by Sandberg. There is ZERO reasonable explanation for this. 

It's gonna be spectacular when Silver doesn't do shit about this. Lebron's new league very well may take off if Silver lets salary cap circumvention go unpunished and tactitly approves it

Edited by Captainant
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Posted (edited)

One thing I don't think I appreciated from the initial coverage but that they discussed in today's ep was that the $48M found to be contracted to pay KL is that 48m is the ~difference between what Ballmer was allowed to pay him as a free agent, and the max the Toronto team was allowed to pay to re-sign him.

Capturing the details really require at least two good listenings or taking notes so here's Bleacher Report summary of today's Torre podcast

 

Kawhi Leonard Reportedly 'Was Personally Guaranteed Another $20M in Aspiration Equity'

Doric Sam Sep 29, 2025

The controversy surrounding Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard's alleged side deals continues to develop with new details.

During Monday's episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, sports journalist Pablo Torre revealed that Leonard "was personally 'guaranteed' another $20 million in Aspiration equity by company co-founder Joe Sanberg, according to multiple sources."

Torre went on to add that the arrangement between Leonard and Aspiration had "a unique, previously unreported wrinkle: a so-called put option, sources say, for Leonard to essentially sell back his equity to Aspiration for $20 million."

Earlier this month, Torre reported that the Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer attempted to circumvent the NBA salary cap by paying Leonard $28 million through an endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company in which Ballmer invested. The NBA launched an investigation into the matter to determine whether Ballmer and the Clippers violated any league rules.

Ballmer admitted to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that he made an introduction between Leonard and Aspiration at the company's request in November 2021, three months after he had signed a four-year, $173 million contract extension with the team. However, he denied having any knowledge of a side deal between Leonard and Aspiration.

"We even found the email that makes the first introduction. It was early November," Ballmer said. "The introduction got made and then they were off to the races on, on their own. We weren't involved. I eventually learned that they had reached a deal. I have no idea what the deal was."

Torre questioned Ballmer's pushback during Monday's episode of PTFO, as he reported that Ballmer "quietly donated $1.875 million" to Aspiration more than a year and a half after the Clippers said they ended their sponsorship agreement with the company.

"It's just inconceivable to me to be both hoodwinked and bamboozled yet continuously giving money to Joe Sandberg," a former employee of Aspiration's finance department told Torre. "... It does not make any iota of sense to invest in 2021, contribute nearly $100 million in carbon offset pre-purchases, reinvest in 2022-2023 round, claim all of that to be lost in 2023, and then come back for more in 2024 via charitable donation."

The Clippers are set to hold a media day on Monday, so there will undoubtedly be questions about these new developments. The rest of the NBA is also hoping to get more clarity about the controversy following Leonard into the start of the 2025-26 season.

"This should be embarrassing for the league," a current NBA head coach told Torre. "I know teams do little side deals, but what happened here is so obvious."

 

 

Screenshot 2025-09-29 at 8.50.36 AM.png

Edited by Chopper

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