NBA Pushes Back on ESPN Report About the Findings of Its Clippers Salary Cap Investigation

In a statement released on Monday (Aug. 17), the NBA rebuffed an ESPN report claiming the league found no evidence showing Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard through team sponsors.

Instead, ESPN claimed that multiple sources informed them the league was focused on the fact that the Clippers introduced Leonard to team sponsors, which may make them guilty of “failing to supervise” the star player.

“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement. “The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”

The statement seemingly indicates that the investigation, which was launched in Sept. 2025 when the league enlisted the services of the law firm Watchtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, remains ongoing.

The probe came after an episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out raised suspicions about an alleged $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal between Leonard and the now bankrupt tree-planting company Aspiration, which was contingent on him remaining with the Clippers.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported in late June that the Clippers agreed to trade Leonard back to his former team, the Toronto Raptors, in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks and a 2027 first-round pick swap.

Less than two weeks later, the Raptors announced the deal involving Kawhi has been put on hold, pending the outcome of the investigation.

“The NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” the Raptors said. “In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”