{"id":607777,"date":"2026-04-16T10:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607777\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:26:17","slug":"have-to-ask-the-nba-kawhi-leonard-sends-clear-message-on-aspiration-drama-after-clippers-season-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/607777\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHave to Ask the NBA\u201d: Kawhi Leonard Sends Clear Message on Aspiration Drama After Clippers Season Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

The investigation that began even before the season kicked off is still ongoing as the LA Clippers<\/a> bowed out after the Play-In loss. In the center remains Kawhi Leonard and his alleged approximate $50 million dealings with now bankrupt Aspiration. Amid the investigation, the 2x Final MVP clarified his stance and put the NBA on notice.<\/p>\n

It was ESPN\u2019s Ramona Shelburne who began the questioning about Leonard\u2019s expectations for the resolution. \u201cI\u2019m not sure. I never thought about it too much other than the questions asked. So you have to ask the NBA, not me. I\u2019m not the one doing the investigation.\u201d The answer was short and very clear that the questions should be directed to Commissioner Adam Silver and the league for updates about the case. But Shelburne pressed again with a follow-up, \u201cHow important is it for you to have some kind of resolution to that?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Again, the answer was short as the 34-year-old star maintained his innocence. \u201cI think that we\u2019re going to be in the clear. Like I told you before. So, it\u2019s not, I\u2019m not stressing it,\u201d concluded Kawhi Leonard<\/a>. He is having what many consider a career year, which earned him another All-Star nod. But throughout the season, the question around the investigation remained as investigative journalists like Pablo Torre allege the Clippers used a $28 million \u201cno-show\u201d endorsement deal with Aspiration to apparently provide off-the-books payments to Leonard.<\/p>\n

\"Sep<\/p>\n

Sep 30, 2024; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) talks with team owner Steve Ballmer during media day at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Another report revealed that Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg also reportedly awarded Leonard $20 million in company equity, despite Leonard never appearing in a single promotional campaign for the brand. It\u2019s been over six months, but currently, there is no final verdict. The NBA commissioner describes it as \u201ccomplex.\u201d In fact, the league hired outside law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to lead the investigation.<\/p>\n

Even the Clippers\u2019 signing a $300 million sponsorship deal with Aspiration from September 2021 is under investigation. A month later, Kawhi Leonard<\/a> signed a four-year, $176.3 million max deal. That\u2019s why the NBA is reportedly investigating whether this deal was a method of salary cap circumvention. Kawhi has denied any wrongdoing time and again, and with him in the final year of his contract, reports now have emerged that his time in LA has come to an end.<\/p>\n

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Kawhi Leonard may have played his final game as a Clipper<\/p>\n

At the trade deadline, the Clippers moved James Harden and Ivica Zubac. In fact, there were reports of the franchise listening to offers for Kawhi Leonard. But the Klaw stayed put as the organization ultimately decided to keep him. Although he is signed through the 2026\u201327 season, recent reports suggest the organization\u2019s focus has shifted, with one former staffer stating they are \u201cdone building around\u201d him<\/p>\n

According to Law Murray of The Athletic, only Darius Garland and head coach Ty Lue are expected to remain with the Clippers. That\u2019s why Leonard\u2019s future with the team is now being described as \u201cmore uncertain than ever.\u201dFollowing the game against the Warriors, Leonard was asked about his future and if he preferred staying with the Clippers.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me cry about this loss a little bit more. We\u2019ll have our discussions when that time comes,\u201d Kawhi Leonard told reporters in the postgame press conference<\/a>. For the 2x NBA champion, his future or the drama surrounding Aspiration didn\u2019t matter. What mattered was that he failed again to push the Clippers deep in the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The investigation that began even before the season kicked off is still ongoing as the LA Clippers bowed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[65403,49,48,2360,14418,1525,14728,34087,459,67543,82,23735,47621],"class_list":{"0":"post-607777","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-aspiration","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-darius-garland","12":"tag-ivica-zubac","13":"tag-james-harden","14":"tag-kawhi-leonard","15":"tag-la-clippers","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-ramona-shelburne","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-the-nba","20":"tag-warriors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}