The NBA is pushing back on ESPN’s account of its Clippers investigation, saying the report contains major inaccuracies while making clear the long-running salary cap probe is not finished.
The NBA has publicly disputed an ESPN report about its Los Angeles Clippers salary cap investigation, challenging an account that said investigators found no evidence owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard. The league did not identify which specific parts of the report it believes are inaccurate.
“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement reported by Complex. Bass added that the results would become clear once the investigation concludes, underscoring that no final determination has been announced.
https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/2089403698724184399
ESPN reported that the league had found no evidence showing Ballmer directly funneled money to Leonard through Clippers sponsors to circumvent the cap. Its reporting said investigators were instead examining whether the organization’s introductions between Leonard and team sponsors could violate league rules, including questions surrounding the Clippers’ supervision of employees.
The investigation began in September 2025 after reporting by Pablo Torre raised questions about Leonard’s alleged $28 million endorsement agreement with Aspiration, the now-defunct company that also had a major business relationship with the Clippers. The NBA retained Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the probe, which ESPN reported later expanded to examine relationships involving other Clippers-connected companies.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/2072091819035316691
The Clippers have consistently denied circumventing the salary cap and said introducing players to business partners is ordinary practice around the league. The organization also maintains that it did not negotiate or dictate Leonard’s endorsement agreements, while Ballmer has denied directing Aspiration to strike a deal with the two-time Finals MVP.
The unresolved case is already affecting basketball business elsewhere. A deal involving Leonard and the Toronto Raptors has been put on hold pending the investigation’s outcome, while NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said he expects the matter and any potential discipline to be resolved before the 2026-27 season begins.
For now, the league’s unusually direct response leaves a significant gap between ESPN’s reporting and the NBA’s public position. Until the investigation formally ends, neither the Clippers nor Ballmer have been officially cleared or disciplined, and the league says its final findings will provide the definitive account.
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