NBA blasts ESPN for ‘inaccuracies’ in report on Kawhi Leonard-Clippers investigation

The NBA has disputed an ESPN report on the league’s investigation into possible salary cap circumvention by the Los Angeles Clippers.

On Monday, ESPN reported that, after an 11-month investigation, the NBA was not able to show proof that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money to Kawhi Leonard via team sponsorships to bypass the salary cap. The outlet also said the two sides have been “negotiating a resolution to the investigation”.

“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” league spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”

The league did not clarify which parts of ESPN’s reporting it was disputing.

Per the ESPN report, the NBA is looking into ⁠whether introducing Leonard ⁠to team sponsors violates ​the league’s rules against salary cap circumvention, and if the Clippers committed a “failure to supervise” regarding their employees. What rule the organization may ⁠have violated or the potential punishment is not yet known.

The allegations first came to light last September in a report by journalist Pablo Torre. The Clippers were accused of feeding $28m to Leonard in the form of a “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration, a green-banking firm partly funded by Ballmer that went bankrupt last year.

Aspiration and three other companies that also signed sponsorship deals with ⁠the Clippers have been involved in the investigation, per the ESPN report. Aspiration’s co-founder wound up in ‌prison after pleading guilty ‌to fraud charges involving $248m.

According to ESPN, the league presented its initial findings late last month and ‌has recently been in the process of resolving the investigation, which began last September.

In a statement to ESPN, the Clippers said the team “introduced players, including Kawhi Leonard, to companies with which we had business relationships. Making introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request ‌of players and representatives.“

According to the statement, the Clippers did not “negotiate or dictate” the terms of Leonard’s endorsement deals and added that a player-company business relationship does not ​prove any salary-cap circumvention.

The Toronto Raptors, who lost Leonard in free agency after winning the 2019 NBA championship, agreed in principle at the end of June to bring him back. The deal hasn’t been completed, and the NBA made it clear Toronto “would assume the risk of any potential outcome ⁠of the investigation impacting Kawhi”.

“In light of this,” the Raptors stated, “we will wait ​until the league’s investigation is complete.”

The ​Clippers, who have repeatedly denied ​any wrongdoing related to Leonard’s contract, also confirmed the deal was on hold. ​Ballmer has also denied ‌the allegations.

Leonard, 35, is ​a two-time NBA ​Finals MVP, having won the award in title runs with the San Antonio Spurs (2014) and Toronto. He averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games for the Clippers last season. A seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, he has made the NBA’s All-Defensive Team seven times.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he hoped the investigation would be complete by the end of the summer. Training camps open on 29 September.