The Kawhi Leonard contract saga has takes another major twist over an alleged $2m payment from a Los Angeles Clippers minority owner.
Leonard is at the centre of widespread speculation regarding a potential breach of the NBA's rules around pay.
Journalist Pablo Torre has alleged that documents exist suggesting the Clippers star was improperly paid. Both majority owner Steve Ballmer and the Clippers franchise have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations centre around a company called Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC, into which Ballmer had previously invested $50 million into.
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Several former Aspiration employees have alleged that the four-year $28 million endorsement deal Leonard signed in 2022 was designed to circumvent the salary cap. Now, fresh allegations have emerged involving Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong.
According to reports, Wong invested nearly $2 million into Aspiration, who then paid Leonard $1.75 million as part of his endorsement deal.
A former Aspiration employee spoke anonymously on the matter to the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.
They said: “It is beyond shocking, and I will tell you, I knew that the board of directors at Aspiration had put in money in December to make payroll and make rent.
"It is not a rational investment that someone [Wong] would make.
“So it is very shocking to me that $2 million was made as an investment by Dennis Wong, who in my texts is identified as... Steve Ballmer’s partner a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi.”
The NBA have since confirmed that are investigating the Clippers and Ballmer to determine whether league salary rules were breached.
They have have also hired a New-York based law firm to help investigate the allegations.
Speculation is now building within the basketball world about what punishment they could face. Sam Amick, who is a senior NBA writer at The Athletic said that the league could cancel Leonard's contract if the claims are proven, while executives could face suspension.
Amick added that the alleged actions of the Clippers go against the principles of fairness and transparency that NBA commissioner Adam Silver prioritised.
Leonard remains one of the NBA's greatest two-way players, as a two-time NBA champion and a six-time All Star.
He entered the draft in 2011, joining the Indiana Pacers, who immediately transferred him to the San Antonio Spurs, where he won his first championship.
After seven years, Leonard joined the Toronto Raptors, winning a title in his solo season.
In 2019, he moved back to his home town of Los Angeles as a free agent, although he has struggled with injuries.
Topics: Basketball, NBA
James Taylor