NBA lacks evidence Ballmer paid Kawhi via firms

The National Basketball Association has found no evidence that Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap, according to 3 people familiar with talks between the two sides in the past few days.

Instead, the league is focused on whether the Clippers’ introduction of Kawhi to team sponsors violates NBA rules prohibiting salary cap circumvention, the people close to the situation revealed.

The NBA is investigating if Ballmer’s team is guilty of “failure to supervise” employees. Still, it is unclear what specific rule the Clippers would have violated or what the penalties would be if this is proved.

The almost 1-year probe into salary cap circumvention allegations expanded beyond Kawhi’s deal with Aspiration, the now-defunct green banking company at the center of the scandal, to at least 3 additional firms that also had deals with Los Angeles.

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Silver: Kawhi investigation must end before campaign starts

Despite that, the NBA presented no evidence that the Clippers owner funneled money to Kawhi. The league has not yet made an official comment on the latest information.

The NBA has found no evidence that LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap, according to three people with knowledge of recent discussions between the two sides, per ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter… pic.twitter.com/bx6MbTZKJN

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 17, 2026