Steve Ballmer insists Clippers had no role in Kawhi Leonard’s Aspiration deal

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is pushing back on the idea that the team had anything to do with Kawhi Leonard’s controversial endorsement contract with Aspiration.

In an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on SportsCenter, Ballmer said Aspiration simply asked him to connect them with Leonard back in November 2021. That happened not long after Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million deal to remain with the Clippers.

“I made the introduction. That was it,” Ballmer said. “We were done with Kawhi. We were done with Aspiration. They did their deal on their own. We weren’t involved.”

Here’s where the money trail comes in. Two months before Ballmer’s introduction, Aspiration had already agreed to a $300 million sponsorship with the Clippers. That included a jersey patch and a stake in the team’s new arena. Ballmer said Aspiration even tried to outbid Intuit for naming rights.

That’s only part of the story. Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March. Among its creditors was KL2 Aspire LLC, with Leonard listed as a manager. Pablo Torre reported that records showed the company owed Leonard’s LLC about $7 million. Co-founder Joe Sanberg later pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud tied to more than $248 million in losses.

“These were guys who committed fraud. They conned me. They conned me,” Ballmer said. “I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”

The renewed scrutiny followed Torre’s report earlier this week that described Leonard’s Aspiration deal as a “no-show” arrangement with no real services performed. Ballmer said he has no idea about the details and doesn’t plan to ask.

“It’s really his business with Aspiration,” Ballmer said. “So I wouldn’t ask about it, no.”

It is worth remembering that this is not the first time Leonard’s negotiations have been scrutinized. Back in 2019, the NBA looked into claims that he and his uncle Dennis Robertson made improper requests when Leonard was a free agent.

Those alleged asks ranged from partial team ownership to private planes and guaranteed endorsements. The league cleared the Clippers then, while saying it would revisit things if new information surfaced.

“They know the rules,” Ballmer said. “They meaning Kawhi and his representatives, including his uncle. We know the rules. And if anything’s not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are and we make absolutely clear we’re going to abide by those rules and they understand them as well. And it’s important for them to abide by them, which they have.”

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