Steve Ballmer just received the harshest ownership punishment in modern NBA history. A one-year suspension, a $30 million fine, and five forfeited first-round picks over the Kawhi Leonard salary cap scandal. And right on cue, an old story involving the Clippers owner and a very different kind of unfulfilled promise is making the rounds again, courtesy of the man it was made to.
Patrick Beverley hasn’t let go of a handshake deal dating back to 2019, when he turned down a bigger offer from the Sacramento Kings to re-sign with the Clippers. According to Beverley, Ballmer sweetened his below-market contract with an unusual side promise.
“When I was in that meeting in Marina del Rey at the Ritz-Carlton, Steve Ballmer looked me in my face, shook my hand, and we’re going to get you 94 courts too all around LA,” Beverley said.
“I actually started to build them before COVID hit. I’m telling you, I got four courts in LA with Mr. 94 Feet logo on them right before COVID hit and everything had to be paused,” he added.
The Clippers now face the fallout of the league’s Aspiration investigation. Beverley said that the unresolved court deal feels less like a running joke and more like unfinished business.
“I’m still looking for compensation from that. It’s funny, we joke about it, but now I’m serious,” he said, tying the moment directly to Ballmer’s current situation. “Now I’m serious that now all the stuff I’m saying with Kawhi, I’m like, nah, I need that. Like that’s only fair, right?”
The NBA’s investigation found that Ballmer knowingly helped Leonard secure off-court income through a sham endorsement deal with the now-collapsed company Aspiration. The same kind of behind-the-scenes financial arrangement that Beverley is now calling out Ballmer for.
He oversaw the organization pour $2 billion into building the Intuit Dome, invest heavily around Leonard’s camp, and absorb the largest fine in league history—all while a comparatively modest commitment to a former player sat untouched for years.
“So was it all worth it? I couldn’t believe the Clippers went out like that,” Beverley said, summing up his frustration with how the franchise’s priorities have played out.
The Clippers, for their part, are not accepting the league’s findings.
The team released a statement saying it “vehemently rejects the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence.”