Photo: Getty Images
A nearly $21 million paper trail was reportedly discovered in the "no-show job" scandal centered around the Los Angeles Clippers and All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, journalist Pablo Torre reported on the latest episode of his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast released on Thursday (September 11).
Torre, who initially reported that the Clippers bypassed the NBA's salary cap by paying Leonard $28 million through a now bankrupt financial backer, revealed a letter with the Clippers logo confirming a $21 million withdrawal from an escrow account. The letter, which was dated June 14, 2022, was signed by the Clippers' chief financial officer, and the account was to be used to fund carbon projects for Aspiration.
Aspiration, which was financially backed by Clippers owner Steve Balmer, reportedly paid Leonard $1.75 million as part of an endorsement deal for an appearance he never made, which Torre had previously reported was intended to "circumvent the salary cap."
“This, I’m told, was enough to not only pay Kawhi Leonard obviously, it was enough to hit its fundraising target,” Torre said on the episode of his podcast release on Thursday. “It was enough to keep the company afloat two weeks before Kawhi’s initial no-show payment was due on June 30, 2022.”
Palmer and Clippers executives reportedly heard Aspiration's sales pitch "a couple weeks" before sending the newly released letter, a source with knowledge of the situation told Torre.
“The money came in quickly,” the source said.
The podcaster then played a clip of an interview he conducted with the anonymously identified "Source No. 2," who was reportedly worked in Aspiration's finance department as a senior executive.
The source then addressed former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban -- who now has a minority stake -- defense of Balmer and public criticism of Torre's reporting, claiming it would have been a lot easier and a lot safer, if he was trying to circumvent the CBA to just buy more carbon credits,” which would've resulted in immediate cash to pay Leonard.
“They did that. Literally, [Cuban] described one of the few ways that the Clippers and Ballmer got money into Aspiration,” Source No. 2 said. “He literally described exactly what they did. He’s right. He’s completely correct. That would be one of the avenues that you would use to circumvent the cap.”
Last week, Torre reported that Dennis J. Wong, a Clippers limited partner, reportedly invested $1.99 million into Aspiration less than 10 days after the company paid Leonard $1.75 million for the "no-show job." Ballmer invested $50 million into Aspiration through his personal LLC in September 2021, while the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with the company two weeks later.
Torre said the payment to Leonard was late as Aspiration faced financial issues prior to filing for bankruptcy. The Clippers issued a statement earlier this month denying the allegations.
"After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243 million fraud. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons before defaulting on its contract.
"There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi's independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.
"The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league's rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation into Aspiration's blatantly fraudulent activity."
Leonard, 34, signed a three-year, $153 million deal with the Clippers in January 2024, which will run through the 2026-27 season. The two-time former NBA champion was limited to just 37 games due to a right knee injury, averaging 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists during the 2024-25 NBA season.
Torre, a former ESPN reporter, had previously given deep dives into several topics on his podcast, which included legendary former NFL turned University of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick's relationship with Jordon Hudson earlier this year.