“We’ll get to bottom of this” – Adam Silver addresses Clippers’ $28 M scandal labeling it as ‘brand issue’ for NBA

While there have been a number of basketball headlines that have come and gone recently, no issue has generated as much buzz as the LA Clippers’ alleged arrangment to circumvent the salary cap to compensate Kawhi Leonard. It was only a matter of time, of course, before the NBA Commissioner spoke at length regarding this matter.

Speaking at the Tuned In 2025 Summit, an event organized by Front Office Sports, Adam Silver discussed how the league was approaching the Leonard situation.

“Yes, this investigation will take time. We want to be as thorough as possible,” Silver said at the event. “It’s my sense, from being involved in these things, we will get to the bottom of this.”

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Silver, who has been working in the NBA since 1992, called the matter a "brand issue" for the league to figure out. The Commissioner went on to give his assurance that the matter would be handled with utmost care.

"I’m a lawyer. I believe in due process. I believe in fairness," he stated. "We will be thorough, but we will begin with a presumption of innocence, not a presumption of guilt. We will follow the facts."

Indeed, there are many facts to be uncovered about the dealings of Leonard, the Clippers, and the company that he supposedly signed an endorsement deal with.

According to the explosive claims put forward by podcaster Pablo Torre, the environmental startup Aspiration had signed Leonard to a $28 million endorsement deal so that the Clippers could skirt around the limitations of the salary cap. This was the same company that reportedly received a $50 million investment from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer back in 2021.

Report: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested an additional $10 million in Aspiration just 18 months after initial dealings

Now, Silver and his team will have to take a look at a report claiming that Ballmer made another multi-million dollar investment in Aspiration.

Last Friday, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reported that Ballmer allegedly invested another $10 million in the company back in March 2023, roughly a year and a half removed from his $50 million investment.

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NEWS: Eighteen months after LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration – the firm at the center of an NBA investigation into whether Kawhi Leonard made a side deal to circumvent the salary cap – Ballmer made an additional investment of nearly $10 million.

At the time, Aspiration was said to be trending towards the direction of bankruptcy. The timing of Ballmer's second investment will certainly be taken into account in the NBA's investigation.

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About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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