It's fair to say that the NBA community has been left rocked with the potential implications of the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration saga. The NBA has already launched an investigation into the situation after Pablo Torre’s concerning report alleging that Leonard was paid $28 million by Aspiration for a no-show job.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was recently a part of a livestream, and one of the viewers had a hilarious question that directly referenced the Aspiration situation.
“Ja, I got a tree company if you want to come on-board,” Morant read out one of the messages sent on the live chat. The question was an obvious reference to the now-bankrupt carbon-credit firm.
Someone asked Ja Morant if he wanted to join their tree company and he did not get the joke
“What kind of tree you talking about bro?”
Via @PlayoffMem pic.twitter.com/hzxLcnMj6x
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) September 11, 2025
However, Morant did not seem to pick up on it and seemed genuinely curious about the question.
“What kind of tree you talking about bro? What you talking about bro?” Morant said on the livestream.
Aspiration filed for bankruptcy earlier in March 2025, with Steve Ballmer previously known to have invested $50 million in the firm. Further, a $1.75 million payment to Kawhi Leonard was made days after the Clippers' part-owner Dennis Wong sent a $1.99 million investment to the company back in December 2022.
This was despite the fact that Aspiration was already struggling and had actually laid off 20 percent of its employees the day the Leonard payment was made. While the evidence had largely been circumstantial before this latest update, Torre revealed having access to the paper trail that directly connects Wong to the said investment in the now-bankrupt company.
The NBA is now investigating the matter, and further updates can be expected to be based on what they find. However, considering the sheer publicity this controversy has received, as well as the implications it potentially has for the entire NBA, Morant’s lack of awareness comes as a bit of a surprise. Still, the Grizzlies superstar did eventually seem to understand that it somehow pertained to the Leonard controversy.