Former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Mark Lasley said he doesn’t think La Clippers owner Steve Ballmer tried to work with third-party companies to secretly pay superstar Kawi Leonard in 2021 to avoid the NBA salary cap.
“That’s not something I believed,” Rusley told CNBC in an exclusive interview. “I’ve known Steve for a long time and for his partner (the Clippers Minority Owner) Dennis (Wong). I’ve always found myself an honor and gentleman.”
Journalist and podcast host Pablo Torre reported earlier this month that Leonard had signed a $28 million sponsorship agreement with a company called Aspiration. The deal required the NBA to do little in hoping to raise money.
Ballmer invested $50 million in aspiration. Torre reported that the source within the suction told him that by paying Leonard more money from the book, the Clippers avoid the league’s salary cap. The NBA has launched an investigation based on his report.
Rusley said there’s always pressure to win in the NBA, but “there’s no pressure to skirt the rules.”
“In the NBA, everyone knows the rules. You follow that because you know that otherwise you’ll get into a lot of trouble,” he said.
Ballmer and the Clippers have denied claims of avoiding the salary cap. Earlier this year, it filed for bankruptcy, and its co-founder was charged with fraud.
“I think there’s probably a lot of smoke, but I don’t think there’s much there,” Lasley said.
Lasley agreed to sell his Bucks stake in 2023 to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a $3.5 billion valuation.
