Adam Silver said Wednesday the NBA is close to the point where it needs to wrap up its investigation into the LA Clippers, pressing for an end to a months-long probe that could decide whether the team broke salary-cap rules. The commissioner said the league cannot keep investigating forever and that everyone involved needs finality.
Silver’s comments came as the NBA continues to examine whether the Clippers arranged a no-work, multi-million dollar endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard through a team sponsor. That deal, which Leonard received in 2022, was reportedly worth four years and $28 million, and there is no publicly available evidence that he did any work for Aspiration. The league hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation.
Silver’s push for a decision matters because the outcome could ripple far beyond one player or one franchise. If the NBA determines Leonard’s arrangement with Aspiration was used to circumvent the salary cap, Silver could fine the Clippers millions, strip future draft picks or even void Leonard’s contract. He said the team needs to know what situation it will be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams that have to plan around the same rules.
The Clippers, Steve Ballmer and Leonard have all said they did nothing wrong. Silver said he would not base any ruling on perception and would follow the facts, even as public scrutiny has intensified around the case. Pablo Torre won a Pulitzer Prize in May for uncovering links between the Clippers, Leonard and Aspiration, and his podcast reported that former Aspiration employees described the company’s ties to the team.
That reporting also said Aspiration was partly funded by a $50 million investment from Ballmer, while Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong made a $2 million investment and the company then paid Leonard $1.75 million. Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced earlier this week to 14 years in prison for defrauding investors, including Ballmer and his team. Silver said Wachtell will produce a report from its investigation, and once it is delivered the decision on any punishment will be his. The unresolved question is how quickly that report arrives and whether the league is prepared to act before the playoff spotlight moves on.
