Report: Clippers used phony deal with tree-planting company to help sign Kawhi Leonard

The Los Angeles Clippers are facing a bombshell new allegation related to their original recruitment of Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard was one of the most coveted free agents in NBA history when he signed a three-year, $103 million contract with the Clippers ahead of the 2019-20 season. At the time, there were numerous questions about whether Leonard’s manager Dennis Robertson, who is also his uncle, had made illegal requests to teams in an attempt to sweeten any deal that Leonard signed. The NBA investigated some of the claims and did not find anything.

According to a report from Pablo Torre that was released on Wednesday, league investigators did not look hard enough. In the latest episode of his “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast, Torre uncovered a connection Leonard has to a celebrity-endorsed tree-planing company called Aspiration that filed for bankruptcy in March. A company called KL2 Aspire LLC is listed in the bankruptcy filing as one of the creditors that is owed money — $7 million.

Torre learned that KL2 Aspire LLC is a company managed by Leonard. The name suggests it is a company that was created specifically for the deal with Aspiration. Torre then began searching for any connection between Leonard and Aspiration and could not find a single instance where Leonard publicly mentioned the company. That was unusual because other celebrities and athletes, including former Clippers coach Doc Rivers, had publicly endorsed Aspiration.

By speaking with several former Aspiration employees, Torre obtained a copy of a signed and executed document between the tree-planting company and Leonard’s KL2. The contract reads, in part, as follows:

“In consideration of the rights and benefits granted to Company hereunder, Company will pay KL2 Twenty Eight Million Dollars ($28,000,000) in cash during the Term of this Agreement. Company will pay KL2 Seven Million Dollars ($7,000,000) each year of the Term.”

One former Aspiration employee allowed Torre to air an interview with a voice changer. The person said he or she was shocked to learn that Aspiration had a deal with Leonard.

“My reaction was, ‘What the f–?’ I was told these are the major contracts and the major players you really need to be aware of. We went through a litany of really, really, top-tier-name contracts and then, oh, by the way, we also have a marketing deal with Kawhi Leonard, a $28 million organic marketing sponsorship deal with Kawhi,” the former employee said. “And (they said) that if I had any questions about it, don’t, because it was ‘essentially to circumvent the salary cap, lol.’ There was lots of ‘lol’ when things were shared.”

The former employee was then asked if he or she ever saw Leonard publicly endorse Aspiration in any way.

“Never, not once. The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press,” the person told Torre. “It’s honestly incredible — nothing, he didn’t have to do anything. It’s amazing. I’m honestly so jealous.”