Steve Ballmer Faces Heat From Aspiration Investors Over ‘Funnelling Funds’ to Kawhi Leonard

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has vehemently denied that he funneled funds to star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Steve Ballmer Faces Heat From Aspiration Investors Over ‘Funnelling Funds’ to Kawhi Leonard

Steve Ballmer facing lawsuit over alleged Kawhi Leonard payments (Image via FirstSportz)

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Steve Ballmer and his Los Angeles Clippers have been the subject of speculation after it was alleged that they funneled funds through Aspiration to pay Kawhi Leonard under the table.

When investigative journalist Pablo Torre first broke the news, it brought a sense of gloom over the NBA. The billionaire owner denied ever breaking the league’s salary circumvention rules and stated that he was scammed by Aspiration.

However, as time went by, more and more instances came to light, pointing fingers at Leonard’s camp, namely his uncle Dennis Robertson. He is alleged to have made demands to prospective teams looking to sign his nephew in the 2019 offseason.

The NBA launched an investigation, but has not yet come to a conclusion. Aspiration’s former CEO also tried to calm the waters by claiming the company never talked about helping the Clippers circumvent the salary cap.

Those attempts to clear the Clippers have not helped them, as many speculate that all the proof shows the franchise did whatever was necessary to land the 2-time Finals MVP. Now, Steve Ballmer has found himself in some hot water.

The arrangement was that Ballmer would be an investor in Catona and in return, Ballmer would use Catona to secretly funnel millions of dollars to star NBA player Kawhi Leonard. These funds would be channeled through Catona to Leonard so that Ballmer could induce Leonard to re-sign with the Clippers by covertly paying him more than allowed by the NBA’s salary cap rules.

An excerpt from the lawsuit against Steve Ballmer

This is the excerpt from the lawsuit Steve Ballmer is facing from 11 former investors of Aspiration. They believe the Clippers’ owner wrongfully used funds for his own interests.

Investors allege Steve Ballmer kept investing in Aspiration to ‘silence’ secret Kawhi Leonard deal

The lawsuit is looking to bring an investigation into Steve Ballmer’s activities with Aspiration. Another excerpt from the official complaint read:

Plaintiffs allege that Ballmer transferred other funds to [Aspiration] to keep the company afloat and buy Sanberg’s support, cooperation, and silence about the secret deal with Leonard. The full extent of Ballmer’s transfers of funds to [Aspiration] and Sanberg will be ascertained in discovery.

An excerpt from the lawsuit

The last part of this excerpt suggests the 11 investors are hoping that an official investigation will reveal the extent of Ballmer and Aspiration founder Joseph Sanberg‘s collective efforts.

They believe the former Microsoft CEO kept funneling funds to keep their deal to pay Kawhi Leonard secret. If this lawsuit goes ahead with full steam, it could put Steve Ballmer in a spot of bother.

Lawsuit could undermine Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard amid NBA investigation

If this lawsuit goes ahead full steam, it could become a problem for both Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard. If the Clippers’ owner settles the lawsuit, the accusations would now seem to be factual.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Steve Ballmer
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Steve Ballmer (Image via Alex Rozier NBCLA/X)

It could give the NBA added impetus in its investigation, as so far, all evidence is circumstantial at best. Even though the league can act on circumstantial evidence, this lawsuit could give them the boost to reprimand both the franchise owner and the star player.

The league is already facing a tumultuous situation with the recent arrests over illegal gambling. The last thing Adam Silver needs is for the feds to take a look at this case, which will undermine the league greatly.

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