As NBA All-Star Weekend tips off Friday night at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the spotlight isn’t just on the league’s brightest stars-it’s also on the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, who find themselves at the center of an ongoing NBA investigation. The league is expected to wrap up its review into potential salary cap circumvention involving Leonard and the environmental finance company Aspiration shortly after the break.
According to a recent report, the investigation hinges on whether financial dealings between Leonard and Aspiration may have constituted improper benefits tied to his contract with the Clippers. The independent review, led by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, is nearing its conclusion, with findings expected next week-right on the heels of Commissioner Adam Silver and league executives gathering in L.A. for All-Star festivities hosted by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
At the heart of the investigation is a tangled web of financial relationships. In publicly available bankruptcy filings, Aspiration’s three largest creditors include the Clippers, who claim they’re owed $30 million; Forum Entertainment-another Ballmer-owned entity-seeking $11 million; and Leonard’s own limited liability company, KL2 Aspire, which is listed as being owed $7 million.
Here’s how the timeline unfolds: Leonard formed KL2 Aspire in November 2021, and by April 2022, he had entered into a reported $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. But by December of that same year, the company was already showing signs of financial distress.
During that time, Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong invested $2 million into Aspiration.
Not long after, Leonard received a $1.75 million payment from the company-matching the quarterly installment structure laid out in his contract. A few months later, Ballmer himself invested an additional $10 million into Aspiration as part of a fundraising round, in which Wong was reportedly the only new investor to join.
These transactions have drawn the league’s attention as it seeks to determine whether any of the financial support provided to Aspiration-or the timing of those payments to Leonard-could be interpreted as circumventing the salary cap rules designed to maintain competitive balance across the league.
While the off-court investigation continues, the Clippers' on-court story has been just as dramatic. After stumbling out of the gate with a 6-21 start, L.A. has clawed its way back to a 26-28 record heading into the break. The front office didn’t sit idle at the trade deadline either, making two significant moves that reshaped the roster.
In a headline-grabbing deal, the Clippers sent James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland-a move that signaled a shift toward a younger, more dynamic backcourt. In a separate transaction with the Indiana Pacers, the Clippers traded away Ivica Zubac and received Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks, and a second-rounder in return. It’s a bold pivot, one that suggests the franchise is retooling with both the present and future in mind.
Through all the turbulence, Leonard has been a stabilizing force. At 34, he’s turning in one of the most efficient and productive seasons of his career.
In 41 games, he’s averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He’s shooting a blistering 49.1% from the field, 38.3% from beyond the arc, and an elite 91.2% from the free-throw line-all while logging just under 33 minutes per game.
Simply put, Leonard is playing like a man with something to prove.
But even with Leonard’s brilliance and the team’s midseason resurgence, the cloud of the Aspiration investigation continues to hang over the organization. With the NBA’s decision expected soon after the All-Star break-and with all eyes on the Clippers as they host the league’s biggest weekend at Ballmer’s gleaming new arena-the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The outcome of the league’s review could have major implications, not just for Leonard and the Clippers, but for how the NBA polices financial relationships between players, teams, and third-party entities moving forward. For now, the basketball world waits-watching, wondering, and ready for answers.