The Kawhi Leonard Aspiration situation continues to cast a dark cloud over the NBA. Allegations surfaced before the start of the 2025–26 season that the Clippers may have used outside business arrangements to funnel Leonard additional compensation, raising serious salary cap questions and prompting league scrutiny. Now, Leonard stands in danger of having his entire contract voided.
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The noise surrounding the controversy had somewhat died down as attention shifted to the Clippers’ woeful start to the campaign. At one point, they were hovering near the bottom of the West. Then suddenly, a spark caught fire. Leonard was playing out of his mind. James Harden reverted to his Rockets-era MVP form. The Clippers climbed back up the standings, and hope returned for the second LA team. But it didn’t last long.
Harden was traded away, and reality came crashing back, particularly for owner Steve Ballmer, as the Aspiration scandal resurfaced. NBA insider Tom Haberstroh revealed in a report for Yahoo Sports that while the league will not force Ballmer to sell the Clippers, it could move to void the contract of their top superstar.
“Maybe it’s a case where Adam Silver levies some sort of punishment. Whether it’s forcing Kawhi Leonard’s contract to be invalidated, and I think that would be one of the things that is on the table,” stated Haberstroh.
While other options like banning Ballmer from all home games or taking away draft picks are still at play, the idea of losing out on the one guy they did all this for would be incredible karma.
“I would be very surprised if [the NBA] forced the sale of [the Clippers].”@tomhaberstroh joins Yahoo Sports Daily to talk punishments for Steve Ballmer and the Clippers amid the Kawhi Leonard situation. pic.twitter.com/IjV4C9FVaM
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 23, 2026
However, Haberstroh added that this might only make things crazier in this already unhinged NBA season. “I think if Kawhi Leonard is now a free agent, you’re going to see a frenzy for his services with the likes of the Lakers, with the likes of the Golden State Warriors, or the New York Knicks. They would try to go get Kawhi Leonard at this stage as a free agent. That would actually create more chaos.”
Dropping a hammer like that is only going to derail certain franchises’ game plans. That’s how important Leonard still is to the league. The two-time NBA champion gets a lot of flack for the time he’s missed due to injury over the last few years, but the reality is that when he’s on the court, he can still be considered a top-10 player, and on some nights, maybe even top five.
This whole saga is a perfect storm of superstar power, questionable front-office decisions, and the chaos of modern NBA politics. The Clippers dug themselves into a massive hole chasing Kawhi, and making him sign a $28 million off-the-books deal, and now justice is knocking at the door, potentially threatening the very player they built the team around.
If Leonard suddenly hits free agency, it won’t just be a story about one team. It could throw the entire Western Conference into turmoil. Honestly, it’s wild. This Aspiration story will be remembered for years because of the shakeup it has already caused across the league. If Kawhi gets sent packing because of it and wins a ring with another franchise, it will be the thing that haunts Ballmer for the rest of his days.
