NBA reportedly blindsided by alleged Kawhi Leonard endorsement deal

The Clippers are scrambling to get in front of growing questions about Kawhi Leonard’s ties to a bankrupt tree-planting company backed by team owner Steve Ballmer.

Pablo Torre appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and said the reaction inside the league office has been one of surprise and concern.

“I can tell you though from the NBA perspective, what I’ve been told this morning is that it’s been a bit of panic over there,” Torre said, via HoopsHype. “I’m told that they did not know about this deal between Steve Ballmer, or at the very least between Aspiration and Kawhi Leonard with the influence of Steve Ballmer according to our reporting being the driving force of it.

“So yeah, it’s going to get a little messy, Dan, over there I think.”

The deal in question was reported by Torre earlier this week. Documents show Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement agreement with Aspiration, a company that had received hundreds of millions in funding from Ballmer.

Despite the size of the contract, Leonard reportedly never once publicly promoted Aspiration. A former employee told Torre the arrangement was “essentially to circumvent the salary cap” on behalf of the Clippers.

Aspiration, which filed for bankruptcy this year after its co-founder was charged with fraud, had been connected to Leonard publicly only once.

On June 29, 2023, the Clippers posted a birthday message for Leonard on social media that tied the player and Aspiration together, saying the company would plant one tree for every comment and retweet. Fans have since unearthed that post and relentlessly mocked the franchise.

The Clippers have denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “provably false.” But Torre’s comments suggest the NBA itself was blindsided by the arrangement, which raises bigger questions about disclosure and oversight.

When Leonard signed with Los Angeles in 2019, the league had already investigated claims that his camp made improper demands of other teams during free agency. With fresh allegations and Aspiration’s collapse now in the mix, the story isn’t going away quietly.

The NBA has said it has begun an investigation into the matter.