Kawhi Leonard, an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers, is in the spotlight for a no-show job as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap.
Pablo Torre laid out the alleged scandal on his program, Pablo Torre Finds Out. He made the argument that Leonard received $28 million through the Clippers’ owner, Steve Ballmer’s, company to do nothing.
Leonard is widely considered one of the best all-around players in the NBA. He earned the nickname “The Claw” or “Klaw” due to his exceptional ball-stealing abilities and large hands. His game is built on a powerful combination of defense and offense.
Moreover, he has been a seven-time selection to the All-Defensive Team and has twice been named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, in 2015 and 2016.
His journey to stardom began after two successful college seasons at San Diego State. The Indiana Pacers drafted him with the 15th overall pick in 2011, but traded him to the San Antonio Spurs.
It was in San Antonio where he became a champion, winning the 2014 NBA Finals and earning the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
After seven seasons with the Spurs, Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2018. He led the Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship in 2019 and won his second Finals MVP award.
Nonetheless, Leonard returned to his hometown, signing with the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent on July 10, 2019.
Report Alleges Clippers Used “No-Show Job” to Pay Kawhi Leonard an Extra $28 Million
A new report has accused the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer of a significant salary cap violation involving star player Kawhi Leonard.
According to journalist Pablo Torre, Ballmer paid Leonard $28 million for a “no-show job” to get around league rules that limit player salaries. The alleged deal was made through a now-bankrupt company, Aspiration, which Ballmer funded.
This is not the first time the league has looked into Leonard’s camp.
The report states that Aspiration had a $28 million legal agreement with Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire LLC.
Aspiration sent the payment to Dennis Robertson, also known as Uncle Dennis, Leonard’s advisor. In 2019, the NBA investigated his advisor, “Uncle Dennis,” for asking for improper benefits, but found no evidence of wrongdoing at that time.
A contract clause allowed him to “decline to proceed with any action,” meaning he could be paid without doing any work for Aspiration.
Moreover, another clause reportedly stated he would only be paid if he remained a Clippers player.
Former Aspiration employees told Torre they believed the deal was specifically designed to “circumvent the salary cap.”
The Clippers have strongly denied the allegations, calling them “provably false.” The NBA has not yet commented on the new report.
Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.
Kawhi Leonard joined the Clippers on a three-year contract with $104 million deal in 2019. Later, he extended the contract for four years, valued at $176 million in 2021.
Similarly, he signed a three-year contract worth $149 million in 2024.
