The team’s future is in jeopardy as investigations into the allegations that the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap to sign Kawhi Leonard gather steam. The Clippers were having a calm offseason until sports journalist Pablo Torre dropped a bombshell report detailing the franchise’s shady dealings.
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The Clippers reportedly funnelled $50 million into the now-bankrupt company Aspiration. Torre alleges that money was a part of a $48 million sponsorship deal between Leonard and Aspiration for a “no-show job.”
If this is proven to be true, it is against the league’s CBA rules and can lead to a big punishment. The franchise’s owner, Steve Ballmer, has vehemently denied these claims, but those around the league don’t seem to buy his explanation.
After Torre’s report, the NBA began its official investigation into the matter. Ballmer didn’t waste any time in breaking his silence, sitting down with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne to state his side of the story.
“And because I was enthusiastic, I read their business plan,” Ballmer said. “Remember, they defrauded me. They defrauded many other investors, much bigger than me. But I read the business plan and said, ‘Hey, this makes sense to support them,’ to support us, we made an investment in the company.”
Ballmer claimed he had no idea about Aspiration’s business dealings. More specifically, he stated that the Clippers were victims of fraud at the hands of the company.
Although Ballmer could probably be telling the truth, nothing will be known for certain until the investigation concludes. Meanwhile, executives around the league haven’t minced their words on Ballmer’s role in the entire situation.
“People around the league are having a hard time buying the Clippers’ denials,” The Ringer‘s Howard Beck said. “One exec said it’s ‘stretching credulity’ to believe Aspiration acted on its own, a start-up would hand a player tens of millions without requiring anything in return or go to such great lengths unless the team had asked.”
Every NBA executive deeply understands the league’s salary cap or is at least expected to be. Without any hard evidence, the majority of them have a strong premonition of how this will pan out.
“The initial reaction around the league to that report? ‘They’re f*****,’ said one team executive. ‘That’s what most people think,'” Beck said.
The Clippers have also failed to live up to expectations since acquiring Leonard in 2019. If they were to experience another setback through a disciplinary action from the league, their quest for an NBA title may be further away on the horizon than their fans would like.
