Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and his uncle and business adviser Dennis Robertson have both been interviewed as part of the NBA’s investigation into whether the team circumvented the salary cap to pay the seven-time All-Star, multiple sources tell Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
The investigation, which is being led by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, was launched by the league in September 2025 after a series of reports from investigative journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre alleged the Clippers funneled money to Leonard through a no-show endorsement deal with the now-defunct “green banking” company Aspiration.
According to Holmes, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and other team officials have also been interviewed as part of the investigation. Torre previously reported that former Aspiration executives have been interviewed as well, with five ex-employees saying they weren’t asked about Ballmer, whose involvement was at the center of Torre’s reporting.
Although Ballmer, Leonard and other key members of the team have publicly denied the allegations — and Leonard’s camp did so again to Holmes — some Clippers executives have privately become frustrated by “trying to prove innocence for a violation that they say they didn’t commit,” Holmes writes. Sources tell ESPN the team isn’t sure how the matter will conclude despite the club’s insistence it did nothing wrong.
Commissioner Adam Silver suggested at his press conference on Wednesday that the investigation was nearing its end, though he didn’t give a definitive timeline. According to Holmes’ sources, Silver won’t be swayed by any public pressure to penalize the Clippers, since he answers to the other 29 owners. Silver said on Wednesday that he would follow the facts uncovered by the investigation.
