The Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers murky scandal has a new development. Pablo Torre released a new report in which he dived into the payments made by Aspiration, the now-defunct company owned by Steve Ballmer, to the two-time NBA champion.
Per his latest, Leonard was reportedly paid $1.75 million in December 2022, according to the bank statements acquired by Torre. The same day also marked the entire Aspiration staff being shown the door. Torre focuses on the events nine days before the layoff. The recent documents also implicate Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong in Leonard’s endorsement deal.
Pablo Torre’s Recent Findings Put the Spotlight on Clippers Minority Owner
Torre’s latest clip alleges that Wong, who owns 1% of the franchise and was Ballmer’s college roommate, made an estimated $2 million investment in the now-bankrupt company on December 6, 2022, nine days before Leonard was reportedly paid $1.75 million.
A former employee, under anonymity, weighed in on the development. “It is beyond shocking, and I will tell you, I knew that the board (of directors at Aspiration) had put (in) money in December to make payroll and make rent… (so) it is not a rational investment that someone (Wong) would make,” the employee said.
Watch the full episode with @DarthAmin, @DavidPSamson, “Grandpa Dennis” and @PabloTorre‘s new receipts: https://t.co/f2V86QQjtk
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 11, 2025
“So it is very shocking to me that $2 million was made as an investment by Dennis Wong, who in my texts is identified as … Steve Ballmer’s partner a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi.”
According to reports, Leonard’s deal with Aspiration was worth $28 million for four years. The six-time NBA All-Star was slated to be paid $7 million annually with quarterly payments of $1.75 million, which were marked as critical. After the company failed to pay Leonard early in 2022, Wong’s estimated $2 million investment in Aspiration was sent to the Clippers star.
Torre’s findings took social media by storm after NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the controversy. “I frankly never heard of the company Aspiration before, and I never heard a whiff of anything around an endorsement deal with Kawhi or anything around an engagement with the Los Angeles Clippers,” he said.
“[We] had a conversation with Steve Ballmer and determined quickly that this was something that rose to the level that necessitates an investigation.”
It all started when Torre released an explosive podcast episode alleging that the Clippers reportedly circumvented the NBA cap during their 2019 free agency deal with Leonard. The superstar has been on the side after inking a three-year, $103 million contract that offseason.
