Tomer Azarly: This is in response to the ESPN article and an LA Clippers statement: “The Clippers introduced players, including Kawhi Leonard, to companies with which we had business relationships. Making introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives. From there, Kawhi and his representatives handled their own negotiations. The Clippers did not negotiate or dictate the terms of Kawhi's endorsement agreements or determine what he would be paid. Our commercial relationships stood on their own merits. We chose sponsors, vendors, and other business partners based on normal business considerations, including the value they provided, the quality of their products
and services, and their ability to meet our business needs. We did not overpay any vendor or provide any sponsor, vendor, or business partner with discounts or other favorable terms in order to funnel money to Kawhi. The fact that a player has an endorsement relationship with a company that also does business with his team is not evidence of salary-cap circumvention. After nearly a year of scrutiny, the central fact remains true and unchanged: the Clippers did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard, arrange for others to compensate him on our behalf, or otherwise provide him with undisclosed compensation outside of his NBA contract.”
More on Kawhi Leonard: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
The NBA has found no evidence showing LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard in order to circumvent the salary cap, according to three people with knowledge of discussions between the two sides in recent days. Instead, the NBA is focused on whether the team's introduction of Leonard to team sponsors constitutes a violation of the league's rules prohibiting salary cap circumvention, two of the sources said. The league is examining whether the Clippers are guilty of "failure to supervise" employees, though it's unclear what specific rule the team would have violated or what the penalties would be, two of the sources said. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
The 11-month investigation into salary cap circumvention allegations expanded beyond Leonard's deal with Aspiration, the now-defunct green banking company at the center of the allegations, to at least three other companies that also had deals with the Clippers, two of the sources familiar with the talks told ESPN. However, sources said, the league has presented no evidence that Ballmer funneled money to Leonard. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
The league presented initial findings of its investigation, led by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to the Clippers in late July, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In recent days, both sides have been negotiating a resolution to the investigation, the people said. Those talks -- led by attorney David N. Kelley of law firm O'Melveny & Myers for Ballmer and the Clippers, and NBA general counsel Rick Buchanan -- at times have been "spirited," one source said. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
A spokesperson for the Clippers declined to answer questions about the nature or content of the NBA's initial findings or the ongoing discussions. But in a statement provided to ESPN, the Clippers said the team "introduced players, including Kawhi Leonard, to companies with which we had business relationships. Making introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives." The statement also said the team did not "negotiate or dictate" the terms of Leonard's endorsement deals. "The fact that a player has an endorsement relationship with a company that also does business with his team is not evidence of salary-cap circumvention," according to the statement. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
The league's investigation examined deals with companies including Daktronics and Boingo Wireless, which was a wireless provider for the Intuit Dome, sources familiar with the inquiry said. Earlier this month, Torre reported that Leonard had a previously undisclosed sponsorship agreement allegedly worth millions of dollars with Daktronics, the South Dakota-based company that designed the Clippers' videoboard inside the Intuit Dome. But like Aspiration, there's no evidence that Ballmer funneled money through those companies, and in the recent discussions, the league has focused on those companies only in the context of the Clippers introducing them to Leonard and his representatives, sources said. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
Over the past 11 months, the Clippers and Ballmer have maintained that they had no involvement in Leonard's deal with Aspiration and have denied allegations they broke league rules. The day after Torre's report, Ballmer told ESPN that Aspiration asked to be introduced to Leonard, and that the team made the introduction in November 2021. He said he "eventually learned they had reached a deal" and denied he directed the company to strike one. "Salary cap circumvention rules are important to the league, and I'd want the league to investigate," Ballmer told ESPN at the time. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
Two sources familiar with the NBPA's thinking and the arbitration process said an argument that a sponsor introduction counts as salary cap circumvention likely would not survive. One of the sources said, "That's dead on arrival." — 8/17/2026 ESPN
One league insider with direct knowledge of league business said a salary cap circumvention penalty based on player introductions is "an outrageous overreach" and that "it's the job of players' agents to ask for introductions to sponsors and potential endorsers." The person also said that if the league punishes the Clippers for introducing a player to a team sponsor, it "will be felt across the league -- and players and their management won't stand for it." Introductions between team sponsors and players are common around the NBA, according to owners and other league executives who have spoken to ESPN. They're also something that the league itself has encouraged. — 8/17/2026 ESPN
In a slide from a 2024-25 deck for teams regarding the "business of basketball," obtained by ESPN, the league lists "best practices" for "successful strategies shared by teams from previous seasons.""Identify what players are talking about or commenting on around the facility," the first point reads. "For example: if players have noticed a new sponsor on the court or on their jersey but aren't familiar with what the company does, you might consider facilitating a dialogue with an executive from that company to talk about their business and their relationship with the team." Another slide regarding ideas for player initiatives suggests: "Bring in a member of a team partner (either a corporate sponsor or community organization) to discuss the impact that player appearances have in their organization." — 8/17/2026 ESPN
The NBA operations manual for 2021-22, when the Clippers and Leonard reached their deals with Aspiration, states that team representatives can't recommend a player to a team sponsor as a candidate for an endorsement arrangement. The team can, however, provide a sponsor with player contact information. "If teams are approached by business partners or other third parties regarding a potential business relationship with a player," the rule states, according to a copy of the manual obtained by ESPN, "teams should respond solely by providing the third party with contact information for the player and/or his agent." — 8/17/2026 ESPN
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Clippers release statement on Kawhi Leonard: The fact that a player has endorsement with company that does business with his team is not evidence of salary-cap circumvention
