The entire salary cap circumvention case against Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers rests on this premise: Kawhi Leonard had a "no-show" endorsement contract with Clippers' sponsor Aspiration. That endorsement paid him $ 48 million ($ 28 million in payments, $ 20 million in now worthless stock options) but there is no evidence he did any promotional work for the company (no appearances, no marketing, no posts on social media).

Andrei Cherny, the former CEO of Aspiration, released a statement pushing back on the idea that Leonard had a "no-show" contract — the endorsement contract listed things he had to do — and said there was never a discussion of the NBA salary cap during discussions of the contract. He added that the much-discussed "beliefs" clause in Leonard's contract — that he couldn't be forced to do anything he didn't believe in — is standard in celebrity contracts and does not apply to things like talking to the camera or posting on social media.

Two things can be true. As Cherny noted, Leonard's endorsement contract had specific provisions he had to fulfill — one eight-hour "day of work," making five social media posts (including retweets) over the course of a year, and more.

Also true: There is no evidence he ever did any of that work. Yet the checks kept coming.

What the Clippers can argue — and what might give the other owners pause when it comes time to punish Los Angeles — is that it is not their job to police players' endorsement contracts. The Clippers can claim they were not in any way involved with what Leonard did or did not do with Aspiration. Both the other owners and the players' union are going to be hesitant to set a precedent where the team has to monitor endorsement deals.

Ballmer and the Clippers have vehemently denied any wrongdoing, with Ballmer saying he was "duped" by Aspiration and its founder, like many other investors. He and the Clippers have repeatedly said they had nothing to do with Leonard's endorsement deals.

Still, it's hard for the Clippers and Ballmer to pass the smell test considering the totality of the evidence, including investments with Aspiration. Ballmer made a personal $ 50 million investment in Aspiration in 2021, and months later Leonard had an endorsement contract with the company that ultimately was worth $ 48 million. In December 2022, after it became clear that Aspiration was failing, Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong made a $ 2 million investment in the company. Shortly thereafter, Leonard received a delayed $ 1.75 million endorsement contract check. In March of 2023, when things were bad at Aspiration and it was struggling to make payroll, Ballmer made another $ 10 million investment.

From Commissioner Adam Silver and the league's perspective, the bar is high to prove the Clippers tried to circumvent the cap.
Silver said this week that the burden of proof is on the league — which has hired a law firm to do its investigation as a third, neutral party — and that he "would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety."

Expect the NBA's investigation to drag out into the NBA season, a cloud that will hang over the league even as play tips off.