NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league’s 30 team owners are meeting in New York on Wednesday for a preseason board of governors session that is expected to include discussion of the Los Angeles Clippers’ ongoing controversy involving Kawhi Leonard and Aspiration, a bankrupt financial firm.
According to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov, the session will also feature Silver’s press conference afterward, where questions about the league’s investigation into the Clippers and Aspiration are anticipated.
The allegations center on a sponsorship arrangement struck in April 2022. Reporting from Pablo Torre Finds Out and later confirmed by The Athletic revealed Leonard signed a $28 million contract with Aspiration but did not publicly promote the company. Two sources told The Athletic Leonard also received $20 million in equity from co-founder Joseph Sanberg, though he is not listed as a shareholder in official documents. The Boston Sports Journal first reported details of the stock deal.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer also had ties to the company. In September 2021, he invested $50 million, the same month the Clippers announced a 23-year, $300 million arena sponsorship agreement with Aspiration. The company later collapsed after Sanberg was charged with defrauding investors of $248 million. He has since agreed to plead guilty, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Adam Silver recalls past punishments as Clippers-Kawhi Leonard probe unfolds
The NBA hired law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz last week to conduct a formal review.
Silver addressed similar issues in 2019, when asked how the league might respond to potential cap violations reminiscent of past scandals. He pointed to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2000 penalty under former commissioner David Stern as precedent. At that time, the Timberwolves were fined $3.5 million, lost five first-round picks, had Joe Smith’s contract voided, and saw team owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale temporarily suspended.
“Certainly, if we had an incident along those same lines, we have the same tools available to us,” Silver said in 2019. “That was just such a bright-line violation, and at the time the league office responded very forcefully.”
Leonard’s name has surfaced in other reports this week related to his 2019 free agency. Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star reported that Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, requested unusual concessions from the Raptors, including a share of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and outside sponsorships, along with a trade for Paul George. Libaan Osman of the Toronto Star later confirmed an offer that would have paid Leonard $10 million annually through a sponsorship arrangement had he stayed in Toronto.
Leonard, who signed a three-year, $152.4 million extension with the Clippers in January 2024, has not commented publicly on the allegations. The outcome of the board of governors meeting could set the tone for how the league approaches the Clippers’ situation moving forward.
