The fallout from Kawhi Leonard’s alleged $48 million “no-show job” endorsement deal with Aspiration Inc., a company secretly funded by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, has taken a new turn, as journalist Pablo Torre publicly refuted Mark Cuban’s defense of Ballmer and the Clippers.
Cuban, the former Dallas Mavericks owner, took to social media to defend Ballmer, claiming the billionaire was simply a victim of Aspiration’s fraud.
“Steve isn’t that dumb,” Cuban wrote. “If he did try to feed KL money… do you think he would let the company go bankrupt? Knowing all creditors would be visible to the world?”
I’m on Team Ballmer.
As much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap, First Steve isn’t that dumb. If he did try to feed KL money, knowing what was at stake for him personally, and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt ? Knowing all creditors would… https://t.co/AxvMoLmPv7
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 3, 2025
He argued that Ballmer and Leonard were scammed, not scheming. But Torre wasn’t having it.
Torre, whose Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast broke the story, responded sharply to Cuban’s comments, questioning whether Cuban had even listened to the full 80-minute investigative episode. Torre stood by his reporting, which included signed documents, insider testimony from seven former Aspiration employees, and a detailed timeline linking Ballmer’s investment to Leonard’s endorsement deal.
“If there’s one thing we can’t do in this still-developing situation,” Torre said, “it’s jump to conclusions, or try to pick apart meticulous and original reporting by saying, ‘That doesn’t seem like enough,’ in the most thinly veiled, pedantic fashion possible”.
Torre’s investigation alleges that Ballmer invested $50 million into Aspiration at a premium price, just before the company signed Leonard to a deal that paid him nearly $48 million, despite no public promotion or marketing activity. The contract reportedly included a clause that would terminate the deal if Leonard left the Clippers, suggesting a direct link between team affiliation and compensation.
Cuban’s defense, that Ballmer was duped by Aspiration’s founders, who pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of $248 million, has drawn criticism for oversimplifying the situation and ignoring the deeper implications of the timing and structure of the deal.
The NBA is currently investigating whether the arrangement violated salary cap rules. If the league finds evidence of circumvention, the Clippers could face severe penalties, including fines, loss of draft picks, and voided contracts.
