Commissioner Adam Silver won't rush the NBA's investigation into allegations that Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap by paying star forward Kawhi Leonard through a third party.
"Number one, the burden (of proof) is on the league if we're going to discipline a team, an owner, a player, or any of the constituent members of the league," Silver told reporters at a press conference Wednesday. "I think, as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges. ... I'd say in the case of the league, we and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence."
Journalist Pablo Torre showed troves of documents on the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast indicating that Ballmer made a personal $50-million investment in eco-friendly startup Aspiration in September 2021. In April 2022, Leonard signed a marketing deal with the company that would pay him $28 million over four years. A former Aspiration employee told Torre that Leonard's contract was worth more than any of the company's other celebrity endorsement deals.
Aspiration, however, never publicly announced it had signed Leonard, and the deal contained unusual terms for a marketing agreement, according to Torre. The two-time Finals MVP was permitted to opt out of any and all obligations to the company without breaking the contract, and the agreement was only valid as long as the six-time All-Star was still with the Clippers.
The company also reportedly agreed to a secondary deal with the forward that would have paid Leonard another $20 million in company stock, taking his total projected earnings with the organization to $48 million.
Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March after co-founder Joseph Sanberg was arrested and later charged with multiple counts of fraud. In August, he pleaded guilty to defrauding investors and lenders of more than $248 million.
The Clippers have adamantly denied trying to skirt the NBA's rules to illicitly pay Leonard through Aspiration, which also entered into a multi-year partnership with the franchise in September 2021. Ballmer, 69, told ESPN that Sanberg scammed him. He also said he had no knowledge of any deals Leonard individually signed with Aspiration or any other company.
Silver said he would refrain from passing judgment on Ballmer or Leonard until the investigation - led by an outside law firm - is completed. However, he noted that the NBA has broad discretion in evaluating the evidence and potentially disciplining Ballmer and his franchise.
"As a matter of fundamental fairness," Silver said, "I would be reluctant to act if there was only a mere appearance of impropriety. ... Also, in a public-facing sport, the public at times reaches conclusions that later turn out to be completely false. I do want anybody else in the situation Mr. Ballmer is in now, or Kawhi Leonard for that matter, to be treated the same way I would want to be treated if people were making allegations against me. ...
"We're not a court of law at the end of the day either; we have broad authority to look at all information and to weigh it accordingly."
