Next week, the NBA Board of Governors — better known as the 30 team owners — is meeting in New York, and we know what will be the hot topic of discussion now.
The NBA has opened an investigation into allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap to get Kawhi Leonard an additional $28 million through a now-bankrupt environmental company, reporting done by Pablo Torre and team for the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (PTFO).
While the NBA league office, under the guidance of Commissioner Adam Silver, will conduct the investigation, it is the other 29 owners who would have to vote on any sanctions or punishments. Right now, there are more questions than answers.
There are two key topics for the investigation looking forward. First, what did Ballmer and the Clippers know, and when did they know it? Second, depending on the findings (especially if the evidence is all circumstantial), how willing are the other 29 owners to come down hard on one of their own? There’s a lot to get at, let’s break it all down in bullet points.
Circumstantial vs. smoking gun evidence
• PTFO laid out a troubling timeline garnered through court records and former employees of Aspiration (a “green bank” whose model was to do large amounts of tree planting to gain carbon credits for its corporate clients, a company that has since filed for bankruptcy and had its CEO plead guilty to fraud).
That timeline: In September 2021, Ballmer made a personal $50 million investment in Aspiration. A couple of weeks later, Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million contract extension with the Clippers. At the Clippers’ media day in September 2021, Ballmer announced a $300 million partnership with Aspiration as part of making the Intuit Dome “green” (a priority of his). Soon after, Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration.
• That endorsement was what several Aspiration employees told Torre was a “no-show” job. Leonard never made any public appearances for the company, did not appear in its marketing, nor did he…
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