And the dramas gets worse… Sports journalist Pablo Torre has exposed another curious financial maneuver involving Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, a bankrupt sponsor, and a team co-owner.
According to Torre’s reporting, one of Leonard’s $1.75 million quarterly endorsement payments from the now-defunct company Aspiration was “running late”; until Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong stepped in with a $1.99 million investment. Days later, Leonard was paid in full.
Here’s the timeline:
December 6, 2022: Wong, who owns 1% of the Clippers and is a longtime associate of majority owner Steve Ballmer, wired nearly $2 million into Aspiration, a company already teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
December 15, 2022: Aspiration paid Kawhi Leonard $1.75 million as part of a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal. That same day, the company laid off 20% of its staff.
EXCLUSIVE: Kawhi Leonard’s $1.75M “no-show” payday was running late.
Then, per new documents obtained by @PabloTorre, the Clippers’ co-owner invested $1.99M in the team’s broke sponsor.
Nine days later, Kawhi got paid.
“It is beyond shocking,” an Aspiration executive says. pic.twitter.com/yxOYGfo3dZ
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 11, 2025
Torre’s investigation, featured on his podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, suggests the timing was no coincidence. Former Aspiration employees described the investment as “irrational” and “beyond shocking,” especially given the company’s financial collapse.
The NBA is now investigating whether the Clippers used Aspiration as a vehicle to funnel off-the-books compensation to Leonard. If proven, the franchise could face severe penalties, including fines, loss of draft picks, or even contract voiding.
Leonard’s deal reportedly allowed him to decline promotional obligations while still receiving full payment, and he was also granted $20 million in stock from Aspiration’s co-founder Joe Sanberg. The arrangement has led some to question whether the endorsement was a legitimate business deal, or a workaround to the league’s salary cap rules.
Torre has been vocal about the implications of the case, calling it a symptom of a broader trend in professional sports:
“The real problem is how questionable deals are becoming normal in the NBA,” he said.
He also criticized the lack of transparency and accountability, noting that Leonard’s silence and the Clippers’ vague denials only deepen the mystery.
The NBA’s investigation is ongoing, and the league has yet to issue formal findings. The Clippers maintain that they were defrauded by Aspiration, with Ballmer claiming he was misled by the company’s leadership. But with mounting evidence and Torre’s relentless reporting, the pressure is building.
