Mark Cuban has come to the defense of Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer after a report alleged the Clippers may have engaged in salary cap circumvention with star forward Kawhi Leonard. In a lengthy social media post, Cuban, a Dallas Mavericks minority owner, pushed back on claims made in an investigative report by journalist Pablo Torre, which suggested Ballmer used a sponsorship deal with the now-bankrupt sustainability company Aspiration to funnel additional money to Leonard.
“I’m on Team Ballmer,” Cuban wrote. “As much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap, first Steve isn’t that dumb. If he did try to feed KL money, knowing what was at stake for him personally, and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt? Knowing all creditors would be visible to the world?”
Kawhi Leonard contract drama, explained: Clippers, Steve Ballmer accused of $28 million NBA salary cap evasion
Sam Quinn
The controversy stems from Aspiration’s March 2025 bankruptcy filing. The company admitted to defrauding investors, and its co-founder Joseph Sanberg pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges last week. Court filings listed Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire LLC, as a creditor still owed $7 million.
Torre reported that Leonard had signed a $28 million contract with Aspiration, structured to pay him in cash over the course of four years between 2022 and 2025 as long as he remained with the Clippers. One former Aspiration employee told Torre the deal was “to circumvent the salary cap.”
Cuban, however, argued the scandal points to Aspiration’s fraud, not Ballmer’s wrongdoing.
“They got scammed by Aspiration, along with many others,” Cuban wrote. “Crimes for which they pleaded guilty last week. Scammers do scammy things. They did a $300 (million) sponsorship deal with the Clippers in 2021. That’s a HUGE deal. The better the team does, the more value the sponsorship has. It actually makes perfect sense that if they stole money from investors and want the Clippers to succeed, why not give stolen money to help keep their best player?”
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits teams or affiliated companies from arranging outside compensation to players in order to get around the salary cap. Punishments for violations can include multimillion-dollar fines, the loss of draft picks and the voiding of contracts.
The Clippers have strongly denied any misconduct. In a statement to Torre, the team said: “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”
The NBA said Wednesday afternoon that it is “commencing an investigation” into the matter. Leonard, who re-signed with the Clippers in 2024 on a three-year, $149.5 million contract, has not publicly commented.
Cuban, who sold the Mavericks to the Adelson family in 2023 but still owns a controlling interest, also criticized Torre’s reporting, saying the default assumption that Ballmer was at fault “is going to backfire.”
“It’s sad that [Torre] didn’t take the time to find out how these scammers pulled off their scam,” Cuban wrote.
