The ongoing saga with Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has no end in sight as owner Steve Ballmer and the NBA investigates it, and it somehow gets even crazier with details involving A-list actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio, and rapper Drake.
Talking about Leonard and the Clippers' allegations on The Athletic NBA Daily's YouTube channel, Pablo Torre said the “funniest” part of the situation was Leonard making “more than four times as much as everybody.”
“One of the funniest parts about this whole thing is that you had Leonardo DiCaprio, you had Robert Downey Jr., you had Drake—some of the most charismatic communicators in public in our country — Drake notwithstanding these days, but whatever — and the guy making more than four times as much as everybody, including Cindy Crawford, Orlando Bloom, blah blah blah—was the worst of all of the athletes in that regard,” he explained.
Downey, DiCaprio, and others backed Aspiration, the bankrupt company at the center of the allegations. However, they seemingly made less than Leonard, who did not have to raise a finger to promote.
Clippers' Kawhi Leonard and the “no-show job” drama
Shortly after winning the NBA Finals with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard jumped ship to join the Clippers. He has since stayed there, signing an extension in 2024 in an attempt to keep Paul George.
However, there may be more than what meets the eye going on. Torre reported documents that he obtained that suggested Leonard signed an endorsement deal with Aspiration for $28 million. The “tree brokerage” company recently filed for bankruptcy.
The relationship between the Clippers and Aspiration happened after the Leonard deal. In September 2021, the companies agreed to a $300 million partnership. Aspiration even wanted the naming rights to the team's arena, per ESPN.
However, Ballmer is now “reviewing his interaction with the company” in cooperation with the Department of Justice investigation into Aspiration.
He alleges his original $50 million investment in Aspiration was done to help “legitimize: the company to investors. According to him, it amounted to “less than 3% ownership.”
“I had no control over this company. I owned less than 3% of the company,” Ballmer said. “I had no board seat. I had no control. Heck, it was a fraudulent company. It's possible nobody had any control.”
Oddly enough, Leonard never seemingly publicly endorsed Aspiration. According to Torre and his interviews with some of the company's former employees, Leonard signed a deal with them to “circumvent the salary cap.”
“It was to circumvent the salary cap,” one employee told Torre. “The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. … He didn't have to do anything.”
This is not a legal practice in the NBA. The Clippers then issued a statement to Torre, denying the allegations. “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” they said. “Any contrary assertion is provably false.”
