"Beyond shocking" - Whistleblower reveals Kawhi Leonard was paid by Clippers minority owner through $1.99M investment on the same day as layoffs

Whistleblower reveals Kawhi Leonard was paid by Clippers minority owner through $1.99M investment on the same day as layoffs
Whistleblower reveals Kawhi Leonard was paid by Clippers minority owner through $1.99M investment on the same day as layoffs (image credit: IMAGN)

Kawhi Leonard has been an NBA superstar who seldom makes headlines in the offseason as he rarely speaks to the media.

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However, this year is different. Leonard is at the center of a big LA Clippers scandal and has been part of headlines since last week. He is reportedly involved in a salary cap circumvention scheme.

It all started on Sept. 2, when journalist Pablo Torre revealed some bankruptcy documents from Aspiration, a tree planting service company. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was an investor, and it had a $28 million deal with Leonard's company, KL2 Aspire LLC.

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A former Aspiration employee confirmed the $28 million deal as extra money Ballmer paid Leonard. Torre shared a clip on Thursday where he invited another whistleblower. That person revealed that Leonard was paid part of the money he was owed on the same day a minority team owner invested $1.99 million.

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"It is beyond shocking, and I will tell you, I knew that the board had put money in December to make payroll and make rent and all that material," Torre said, via "Pablo Torre Finds Out."
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"It is not a rational investment that someone would make. So it is very shocking to me that $2 million was made as an investment by Dennis Wang, who, in my text, is identified as the Clippers' Steve Ballmer's partner, a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi."
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According to Torre, Dennis Wang is Ballmer's friend from his college days. He owns a 1% stake in the franchise, while Ballmer owns 99%.

The journalist also revealed that on Dec. 15, 2022, a $1.75 million payment was made to Leonard. The former employee added that it was the same day that 20% of the staff was laid off.

NBA insider claims Adam Silver ignored Raptors' advances to sign Kawhi Leonard through improper means

After Pablo Torre alleged the Clippers of circumventing the salary cap to sign Kawhi Leonard, NBA insider John Gambadoro revealed another side of the story.

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Gambadoro claimed on Sept. 3 that the Raptors tried to do something similar to what the NBA franchise allegedly did.

"From what I know from sources: when Kawhi signed with the Clippers the Toronto owner Larry Tannebaum was beside himself because he believed he bent over backwards for Kawhi - including calling three sponsors to meet Kawhi's demand of an extra $15 million in endorsement money," Gambadoro tweeted.
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He added that NBA commissioner Adam Silver was notified of the Raptors' potentially rule-breaking moves but he remained silent.

"This was brought to the attention of Adam Silver as a concern over the cheating going on in the league being out of control. But no action was taken as it was thought Tannebaum didn't truly understand the rules - only a promise to get more serious about it in the future," Gambadoro tweeted.
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The league is investigating the Clippers after Torre's allegations, and Leonard has not issued a statement about the whole situation.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez
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