Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are facing serious allegations after being linked to a potential fraud scheme to circumvent the salary cap.
Leonard joined the Clippers in the 2019 NBA offseason, causing a meltdown in the basketball world. He later extended his contract in 2024, a move which many critics failed to understand.
However, a recent report by Pablo Torre, after a seven-month investigation, has finally revealed what might've kept the power forward in the team.
As per Torre's research, Leonard got a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a company that vowed to plant trees and supply carbon credits to offset the pollution and emissions of their clients.
Despite the payment, the Clippers star never participated in any public endorsement of the company. The suspicion grew when people realised that the squad owner, Steve Ballmer, invested $50 million of his own money in the company.
To make it even more strange, the company had the right to terminate the deal if Leonard was no longer part of the Clippers.
Torre, through interviews with some of Aspiration's former employees, learnt that the deal was to circumvent the salary cap.
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the questionable move is prohibited, as NBA teams are not allowed to offer "under-the-table" contracts to players to make it more attractive.
If Steve Ballmer and the Clippers are found guilty of evading the salary cap rules, the punishments are likely to be severe.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were found guilty of trying to circumvent the salary cap during talks with Joe Smith back in 1999.
As a result, the Timberwolves lost three first-round picks. The Clippers might be looking at similar punishment if the allegations turned out to be true.
Notably, the LA Clippers had partnered with Aspiration in 2021 to build Intuit Dome as "the most sustainable arena in the world."
