On Thursday, Pablo Torre, through his podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” added new reporting that cast serious doubt on the idea that the Los Angeles Clippers were entirely in the dark about star Kawhi Leonard‘s “no-show” deal.
The saga surrounding Leonard deal with Aspiration took another turn. The company is a so-called “green bank” that traded in carbon credits before collapsing into bankruptcy when its CEO pled guilty to defrauding investors of $248 million. There is now the lingering question of whether the Clippers and their owners used the arrangement to skirt the NBA’s salary cap.
At the center of the controversy is the simple fact that Leonard never lifted a finger for Aspiration—no appearances, no endorsements, not even a token social media post. It was, in effect, a “no-show” job. According to Torre’s reporting, Aspiration employees said they were instructed not to question the arrangement, which they were told existed to help the Clippers sidestep the NBA’s salary cap.
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 05: Kawhi Leonard attends the Men’s Singles Semifinal match between Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Jannik Sinner of Italy on Day Thirteen of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 5, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Pablo Torre’s Reporting Uncovers Payment from Clippers’ Minority Owner
Torre’s latest reporting zeroes in on the final months of 2022. That September, Aspiration—already unraveling—missed a scheduled $1.75 million payment to Leonard. The lapse set off Dennis Robertson, better known as “Uncle Dennis,” Leonard’s business manager and uncle. Robertson, who in 2019 had pressed the Raptors for no-show endorsement deals and sought far bigger perks from the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers—including a stake in the organization, a house, and use of a private jet—was now hounding Aspiration for the overdue money, which had been funneled into an LLC created specifically for Leonard’s endorsement income.
Enter Dennis J. Wong, the Clippers’ vice chairman and minority owner with a 1% stake in the franchise (Steve Ballmer holds the other 99%). Bank records reviewed by Torre show that on December 6, 2022, Aspiration received a $1.99 million wire transfer from Wong’s investment LLP. The timing raised eyebrows: the company was already in default, bleeding cash, and, as employees told Torre, a plainly terrible investment. Those problems were public and well-documented—meaning Wong should have known exactly what he was walking into.
On December 15, Leonard finally received his $1.75 million quarterly payment from Aspiration. That very same day, the struggling company slashed 10% of its remaining staff.
One Aspiration finance executive told Torre that Wong’s investment made no financial sense. “It is not a rational investment that someone would make,” the executive said. “So it is very shocking to me that $2 million came in from Dennis Wong—who in my texts is identified as the ‘Clippers’ and Steve Ballmer’s partner—a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi.”
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 06: Pablo Torre and Kevin Clark attends GQ Sports And ESPN Celebrate NBA Finals at Artspace at Public Hotel on June 06, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for GQ)
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Said There Must Be ‘Due Process’
On Wednesday, following a meeting with the league’s owners, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver struck a tone that was cautious and measured as he addressed the ongoing investigation. The comments came one day before Torre’s new reporting.
“I’m a big believer in due process and fairness, and we need to now let the investigation run its course,” Silver said. He emphasized that he would need to see “substantial proof” of any wrongdoing by the Clippers, adding that the burden of proof rested with the league.
The NBA has brought in an outside law firm to investigate Aspiration, the Clippers, and Leonard’s endorsement deal. And while the court of public opinion is already in overdrive, Silver has made clear he wants the league’s review finished before he and the other owners even consider potential punishment.
“We and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence… I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety,” Silver said. “I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety.”
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