It\u2019s a messy web the league is working through after the Pulitzer Prize winning investigation by Pablo Torre Finds Out <\/a>into the Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer that alleges the team facilitated a no-show endorsement deal<\/a> with a now-defunct tree planting company Aspiration that supposedly funneled $28 million to Leonard. Shortly after Torre\u2019s initial reporting, Ballmer made an appearance on ESPN to unequivocally deny the allegations.<\/p>\n \u201cUp front I want to say one thing very clearly: we, the Clippers, have abided by the salary cap circumvention rules because that\u2019s the right thing to do and we have done that,\u201d Ballmer said in September.<\/a> \u201cFor what it\u2019s worth, I happen to think it\u2019s a very important rule in terms of promoting competitiveness and an equal playing field across the league. <\/p>\n \u201cBut whether I agreed with it or not, that\u2019s the rule. And we\u2019ve absolutely abided by that.\u201d<\/p>\n Holmes\u2019s ESPN report on Wednesday noted that the team remains adamant it did not funnel money to Leonard through Aspiration and had one source with knowledge of the case say that it would \u201cfight that to the end,\u201d even through arbitration, which seems like a real possibility at this point. If the NBA decides to impose penalties without sufficient evidence proving the alleged cap circumvention, the National Basketball Players Association wouldn\u2019t hesitate to take the matter to arbitration according to ESPN.<\/a><\/p>\n Last month, the Clippers and the Raptors agreed to a trade<\/a> that would send Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-rounders. The trade remains on hold <\/a>as the Raptors would have to assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation that impacts Leonard. With the update that the investigation could bleed into the new year, there\u2019s a possibility that the trade isn\u2019t finalized until well into next season, unless Toronto decides to assume the risk of potential punishments.<\/p>\n Investigations take time, that\u2019s nothing new, but at this point the big question is; what\u2019s taking so darn long? The infamous salary cap circumvention case regarding the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Smith is often cited as precedent for the Leonard investigation and other cap circumvention allegations around the NBA.<\/a> However, the Smith case\u2014and severe punishments that followed\u2014included a smoking gun that we\u2019ve yet to see with the Clippers-Leonard allegations.<\/p>\n What the Joe Smith cap circumvention case included that Kawhi Leonard\u2019s doesn\u2019t … as far as we know Steve Ballmer and the Clippers deny any involvement in salary cap circumvention | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n Back in 2000, the NBA discovered an under-the-table agreement the Wolves had with Smith to sign him to a series of one-year deals at a small amount. Over that time, Minnesota would obtain Smith\u2019s Bird rights (which allows franchises to go over the salary cap to sign their own players) and at the end of the third one-year deal, Smith would get a huge $86 million contract. The NBA brought down the hammer <\/a>and voided Smith\u2019s contract, docked Minnesota five first-round picks (later restoring one), fined the team $3.5 million and suspended owner Glen Taylor for a year while general manager Kevin McHale took a leave of absence.<\/p>\n An arbitrator upheld <\/a>then-commissioner David Stern\u2019s decision to void Smith\u2019s contracts, which also took away his Bird rights. The crux of the issue in Smith\u2019s case and what sealed the matter was a secret agreement that was signed with the Wolves, which gave the league clear evidence to punish both parties. Smith later said that <\/a>the under-the-table deal was executed with his agent and the organization without him being involved.<\/p>\n In the current investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the cap to pay Leonard, we\u2019ve yet to see any under-the-table agreement that the franchise facilitated a deal to pay its star through Aspiration. It\u2019s not public knowledge whether the investigators at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz\u2014the law firm the league contracted to conduct the investigation\u2014are sitting on a secret agreement or something similar. If it were, however, you\u2019d have to assume that the investigation would reached its conclusion by now\u2014no matter how complex.<\/p>\n Pablo Torre Finds Out and WPRI of Rhode Island brought additional reporting <\/a>to the table on Wednesday that revealed Leonard, his uncle Dennis Robertson and former agent Mitch Frankel have a secret investment stake in Rhode Island Football Club <\/a>of the USL Championship. Leonard and Robertson opened two new entities\u2014KL2 RIFC Real Estate LLC and KL2 RIFC LLC\u2014that tied them to the club as Aspiration fell apart. Team founder Brett Johnson told WPRI that Leonard\u2019s group is \u201cparticularly interested in real estate,\u201d yet no housing has materialized thus far in Pawtucket, R.I.<\/p>\n Johnson and Rhode Island governor Dan McKee attended the Clippers\u2019 home opener last season at Intuit Dome and the governor\u2019s ticket was purchased by a Spanish sports marketing company called 380AMK. According to Torre\u2019s reporting<\/a>, 380AMK does work for Visit Rwanda, the Clippers\u2019 current jersey patch sponsor. McKee said he reimbursed the cost of the ticket according to WPRI.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a convoluted web that the NBA and its investigators at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz have spent and will continue to spend consider time in an effort to untangle. Holmes and ESPN reported that if the NBA presents indisputable circumvention evidence once the investigation concludes, all parties could agree on the findings and potential discipline and avoid arbitration altogether. As more time passes, the question of if clear evidence of cap circumvention exists and ultimately will be presented looms larger.<\/p>\n More NBA from Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n Listen to SI\u2019s NBA podcast,\u00a0Open Floor, below or on\u00a0Apple<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on\u00a0SI\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Steve](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kyv24q85ekg7wax8qp.jpg\" "\\"Steve")
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