“It was to circumvent the salary cap,” an inside source says. pic.twitter.com\/F6z5pNEkI1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The report stated that Leonard and the company in question, Aspiration, had an endorsement deal that paid him $28 million, but he never publicly endorsed the company. The company was also funded by Ballmer, who invested $50 million into them, which is why the idea of circumventing the salary cap was brought up.<\/p>\n When NBA commissioner Adam Silver heard about this, he publicly addressed it at a press conference in front of the NBA Board of Governors.<\/p>\n After the 9\/10 NBA owners meeting, Adam Silver said: \u201cI\u2019d frankly never heard of the company Aspiration before. And I\u2019d never heard a whiff of anything around an endorsement deal with Kawhi, or anything around engagement with the Los Angeles Clippers. So it was all new to me.\u201d \ud83e\uddf5 pic.twitter.com\/xfpcAYRbX8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pablo Torre \ud83d\udd73\ufe0f (@PabloTorre) September 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n His first comments suggested that he had never heard of Aspiration before, and that he was taking in the information at the same time the public was.<\/p>\n He mentioned several other aspects in the press conference, such as talking about their process of investigating, how they decided to start an investigation, and how they’re treating the entire situation as a whole.<\/p>\n Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; NBA commissioner Adam Silver and FIFA president Gianni Infantino look on in the first half in the men’s basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images \/ Kyle Terada-Imagn Images<\/p>\n A few days later, Silver, who had explicitly said he “frankly never heard of the company Aspiration before,” came out and said something completely contradictory. This happened while at the Tuned In Summit, an event hosted by Front Office Sports.<\/p>\n “(Ballmer) has said, that you have said you hadn’t heard of Aspiration before, but a $300 million deal with the team — you know the (company) was going to be a jersey patch sponsor,” the moderator shared. “They had Aspiration on the back of the courtside seats.”<\/p>\n And then Silver interrupted, “Just to be clear — I said I never heard of it \u2014 I meant in the context of the accusations there. I was certainly aware of the brand.\u201d Many were confused as to why Silver hadn’t heard of the company, but the commissioner cleared it up by making sure fans and media knew it was the accusations he wasn’t aware of.<\/p>\n Adam Silver walks back his comments about not knowing about Aspiration\u2019s existence \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n \u201cI said I never heard of it \u2014 I meant in the context of the accusations there. I was certainly aware of the brand.\u201d <\/p>\n (via @FOS<\/a>, h\/t @MrBuckBuckNBA<\/a>)pic.twitter.com\/UeC0SiIAP9<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) September 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n