Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is enjoying a career year, averaging a personal-best 28.3 points per game. However, the Aspiration scandal continues to loom over the 34-year-old veteran, and the risk that his current three-year, $149.5 million contract could be voided appears to be increasing.
NBA Analyst Reveals Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration Scandal Is Buzzing Around the League
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is enjoying a career year, averaging a personal-best 28.3 points per game. However, the Aspiration scandal continues to loom over the 34-year-old veteran, and the risk that his current three-year, $149.5 million contract could be voided appears to be increasing.
Back in 2022, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reportedly found a creative way around the NBA salary cap by arranging outside compensation for Leonard. Through a partnership with the fintech company Aspiration, which became a Clippers sponsor but is now defunct, Leonard had an opportunity to earn additional money beyond his team salary.
According to multiple sources, Leonard agreed to an endorsement deal offered by Ballmer and Aspiration that would pay him $28 million even if the Clippers star didn’t actively play. This was on top of his $176.3 million four-year deal from 2021.
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The NBA was not pleased upon learning of the arrangement and launched an investigation. Once the league determined that it may have been an attempt to circumvent the salary cap, disciplinary action became a possibility.
However, rather than the Clippers being punished, reports suggest that Leonard himself could face consequences, with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated noting that the possibility of the veteran’s contract being voided “is as talked-about a thing in the NBA as anything right now.”
“I hear about it at every arena I go to, in all my conversations with league and team officials,” he added. “If it turns out that the league decides Kawhi’s contract is invalid because of how it all came together, it’s a major topic of discussion everywhere.”
The noise surrounding the Aspiration scandal had largely subsided as the focus shifted to Leonard’s elite on-court performance. After a prolonged stretch, the seven-time All-Star appeared to be back at his best, helping lift the Clippers from near the bottom of the Western Conference into playoff contention. He is averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point range.
However, a recent report by NBA insider Tom Haberstroh brought renewed attention to the situation, revealing that voiding Leonard’s contract remains one of the options on the table if it is deemed invalid.
Haberstroh also noted that such a decision could trigger a league-wide frenzy, with several top teams prepared to pursue the former two-time Defensive Player of the Year. He identified the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and New York Knicks as potential suitors if Leonard becomes available.
For now, the investigation remains ongoing while Leonard stays focused on leading the Clippers to the playoffs. The team currently sits eighth in the Western Conference with a 36-36 record and will face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
