“The opposite happened” – Steve Ballmer’s $10 million investment into Aspiration contradicts Clippers’ ‘bold’ statement, says Pablo Torre

Pablo Torre said in his podcast in early September that LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap. Torre alleged that Kawhi Leonard signed a “no-show,” $28 million deal with the now-defunct company called Aspiration, a former team sponsor. The Clippers denied the allegations and claimed that the team “ended its relationship” with the company “during the 2022-23 season.”

Roughly a week ago, “The Athletic” reported that Ballmer paid $10 million to the already struggling company in March 2023. Torre called the LA Clippers’ statement “bold,” and seemed to connect the dots in his podcast on Wednesday:

(45:00 mark)

“March 9th, 2023, when Steve Ballmer put in $10 million through his personal LLC, first reported by The Athletic. In the NBA context, there were only 14 games left in the Clippers’ 2022-23 regular season.

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"Steve Ballmer, at that point, did the opposite or end his own personal relationship with Aspiration. … In other words, Dan [Le Batard], the opposite happened from what the Clippers statement tried to convey before they knew we had mountains of documents.”

“The Athletic” also reported that Aspiration only had “12.2 million in cash” on Feb. 17, 2023, and “running through more than $2 million” a week. According to the same report, the Clippers refused to comment on the $10 million Ballmer added.

Pablo Torre's conclusions were yet another bombshell thrown at Ballmer. The podcaster brought a source to his show, who confirmed that the Clippers also partnered with Aspiration on "carbon projects." The unannamed source said that the deal was "one of the avenues" to "circumvent the cap."

The NBA announced a week ago that it hired a law firm to investigate Pablo Torre’s allegations that Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap.

Steve Ballmer said he was “embarrassed” he could not “sniff out” Aspiration’s fraud

In the interview with Ramona Shelburne, Steve Ballmer explicitly told the ESPN reporter that he “had no control” over Aspiration. When asked if he could have found out about the Clippers’ former partner’s fraud, Ballmer responded:

"I reviewed, my staff reviewed primarily fraudulent financials. Now, should I have sniffed it out? Maybe I feel embarrassed and kind of silly that I didn't sniff it out, but I didn't.”

On August 21, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that Aspiration’s co-founder, Joseph Sandberg, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. The DOJ said that he deceived “investors and lenders,” which resulted in "$248 million in losses.”

Ballmer insisted that he, like the other investors, was a victim of the same fraud but could not uncover the deception.

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Michael Macasero

Michael Macasero brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his coverage of basketball at Sportskeeda with over 18 years of diverse work experience. This includes stints at Convergys, Interpace and RunRepeat.

Michael's background in English and Journalism has provided him with the analytical skills and precision necessary for creating content, and he is a lifelong fan of the Boston Celtics. His favorite players include legends like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, modern stars like Tim Duncan, and Nikola Jokic, as well as emerging talent like Victor Wembanyama.

Michael respects Gregg Popovich, despite his contentious demeanor in interviews, and recognizes Popovich's genius in adapting his coaching style to maximize the talent on his roster over the years. Michael eagerly anticipates seeing how Popovich will structure the offense around emerging talent like Victor Wembanyama.

Understanding the story and details is crucial to Michael's reporting philosophy and he believes overlooking details, particularly when pressed for time, can lead to misunderstandings and inaccurate conclusions.

Aside from work, Michael's children are his hobbies, and he also likes to go running, swimming and weightlifting.

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