The NBA says it will open an investigation into a report that the Clippers paid Leonard $28 million for their no-show job at the company.
Released on September 4th, 2025
The NBA said Wednesday it would investigate whether a $28 million approval agreement between Kawi Leonard and the California-based sustainability services company allowed the Los Angeles Clippers to circumvent the league’s salary cap rules following a report by journalist Pablo Torre.
The Clippers strongly deny that the rules have been broken and said they welcomed the league’s investigation.
The investigation will focus on the relationships between companies called Clippers, Clippers, Aspiration Fundamental Advisor and LLC, which filed for bankruptcy this year. I listed several creditors at that time. Among them were the Clippers (in debt of about $30 million) and a company called KL2 Aspire LLC, which was liable for $7 million.
Leonard is listed as the company’s manager in California filings. KL is his initials and 2 is his jersey number. An email sent to his listed representative seeking comment on Wednesday was not immediately returned.
“We know about this morning’s media report on the LA Clippers and are beginning an investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Wednesday.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in suction, and the company and team announced a $300 million partnership in September 2021. This came about a month after Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million extension with the Clippers.
The team ended their relationship with aspirations two years later, saying that the contract was the default.
“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap,” the team said. “The concept that Steve invested in his desire to focus his money on Kawi Leonard is ridiculous. Steve invested because he embraced his clients as committing to doing the right thing while protecting the environment.
“After a long campaign of market manipulation that scams Steve, as well as many other investors and sports teams, Ambition filed for bankruptcy. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had any knowledge of inappropriate activities by suction or its co-founders until the government began an investigation.”
Clippers refuse approval fraud
Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg agreed to plead guilty last month after facing federal fraud charges. The prosecutors scam investors and lenders of the $248 million, adding that “Aspiration’s financial statements are inaccurate and reflect much higher revenues than the companies they actually received.”
Torre, in his report, obtained a copy of the approval agreement between suction and KL2 Appire. Given that schedule, Leonard would still have owed his final $7 million when he filed for bankruptcy for the suction.
There is no evidence that Leonard did anything publicly to support his aspirations.
“There’s nothing unusual or annoying about team sponsors making approval transactions with players from the same team,” the Clippers said. “Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had oversight of an independent approval agreement with Kawi’s aspirations.
A league that previously considered claims that Leonard’s representatives sought certain matters that were considered cap avoidance when he was a free agent several years ago could issue severe penalties if it turns out that the CAP rules were broken by teams that included fines of up to 7.5m, invalidation of contracts and confiscation of future draft picks.
