The NBA’s investigation into whether the Clippers and Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap through Aspiration is still open, and the league is now talking with Ballmer and the Clippers about a possible settlement. Nearly a year after the probe began, the case that has shadowed Kawhi Leonard’s stalled move to Toronto is moving, even if no one is saying how fast.
That matters because the investigation has already frozen one trade and could still lead to punishment that reaches the organization, Ballmer, and possibly Leonard. Last week, Ramona Shelburne said investigators had presented initial findings but were still making calls and putting the case together, while also speaking with Ballmer and his lawyers. Her description pointed to talks that are already underway, even if they have not yet produced a final agreement.
The findings from a report by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz have been turned over, but the picture that has emerged is narrower than the loudest version of the accusation. Shelburne said the conversations have centered more on failure to supervise and on the nature of the introductions between the Clippers and Kawhi’s people than on direct evidence that Ballmer personally orchestrated salary cap circumvention. In her words, if this were being translated into plain terms, the easier version of the case would be the serious one to prove.
That is where the friction sits. There is no official deadline for the investigation to end or for charges or a settlement to be announced, and any punishment would still have to go before one neutral arbitrator under the CBA. That decision could be appealed, Ballmer would likely challenge it, and the process could even spill into the court system. If Leonard is punished, the players’ union would step in on his behalf. For the Clippers, the likely range still includes a fine, suspensions for Ballmer or other executives, and almost certainly lost draft picks.
So the next development may not be a dramatic announcement at all, but a deal, a challenge, or another stretch of uncertainty while the league tries to close a case that has already lasted almost a year.
