For the second time in his career, Kawhi Leonard was dealt to the Toronto Raptors this offseason, this time getting dealt from Steve Ballmer’s Los Angeles Clippers.
However, the trade has been held up as the NBA continues to investigate whether Ballmer and the Clippers circumvented the salary cap with Leonard. On Monday, ESPN dropped a new report on the Aspiration scandal, but the NBA quickly disputed the info.
NBA Disputes ESPN’s Latest Report on Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard
Pablo Torre has been digging into this scandal from the start, but several ESPN reporters have also been reporting on the Aspiration scandal.
ESPN’s latest piece, co-authored by Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes, and Ramona Shelburne, reported that Ballmer has been cleared of funneling his own money to Leonard through team sponsors like Aspiration.
“The NBA has found no evidence showing LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard in order to circumvent the salary cap, according to three people with knowledge of discussions between the two sides in recent days,” the trio reported.
According to ESPN, the NBA is now “focused on whether the team’s introduction of Leonard to team sponsors constitutes a violation of the league’s rules prohibiting salary cap circumvention,” and is examining whether the Clippers are guilty of “failure to supervise” employees, two sources said.
Per ESPN, two sources familiar with the NBPA’s thinking and the arbitration process said an argument that introducing Leonard to sponsors would constitute salary cap circumvention would be “dead on arrival.”
However, shortly after this piece was published, NBA spokesman Mike Bass pushed back on ESPN’s reporting in a statement to Chris Haynes.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass: “ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 17, 2026
“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded,” Bass said.
Earlier this summer, the Clippers and Raptors reached an agreement on the blockbuster trade involving Leonard, with Toronto sending out Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and future draft picks. Now, all eyes are on this investigation to see whether the Leonard trade will go through and whether he’ll face any punishment.
Back in 2018, the San Antonio Spurs traded Leonard and Danny Green to the Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, center Jakob Poeltl, and their 2019 first-round pick.
Leonard led the Raptors to an NBA championship before leaving for Los Angeles after just one season.
Last season, the 35-year-old quietly had a fantastic bounce-back campaign, playing 65 games and averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 38.7% from three.
