While the NBA’s investigation is ongoing into alleged cap circumvention by the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer by way of a “no-show” endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard with now-bankrupt company Aspiration, more details are coming to light.
Investigative sports journalist Pablo Torre previously broke the story on his podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” and a fourth episode dedicated to this scandal released Thursday morning offers further reporting and more details about alleged funding from Ballmer and the Clippers into Aspiration, even after it was already clear the company was faltering. The episode features some key unveilings in this latest installment in the Leonard saga.
The biggest: three installments of prepaid carbon credit purchases from the Clippers in 2022 — two years before the Intuit Dome even opened — totaling $56 million. Those payments were made from April 1, 2022, to June 17, 2022, and aligned closely with Leonard signing his deal with Aspiration and the due date of his first quarterly payment. A $32 million purchase of carbon credits was made on April 4, the same day Leonard signed his endorsement deal. Again, that deal was never disclosed publicly, and Leonard never fulfilled any actual duties for it other than getting paid.
That is notable because Mark Cuban, who has defended Ballmer publicly in this scandal, wrote on Twitter that the “easier and safer” way to circumvent the CBA would’ve been to purchase more carbon credits rather than simply investing in the company.
In a statement, the Clippers explain the massive purchases in carbon credits weren’t just to offset the Intuit Dome, but rather to go “far beyond” those requirements:
Steve and his family are focused on sustainability, which is why Intuit Dome was designed to be a carbon neutral building from its inception and to achieve LEED Zero status over time.
Our development agreements for the arena included mandates to buy carbon credits, but after studying the issue of neutrality, we went far beyond those requirements, exploring ways…
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