The LA Clippers have been in the middle of a massive salary cap issue involving its owner Steve Ball and its franchise star Kawhi Leonard. The issue stemmed from an alleged salary cap manipulation done by Ballmer, which gave Leonard millions of dollars outside his normal salary from the Clippers. Mark Cuban was among those who gave the benefit of the doubt to Ballmer amidst all the investigation, defending the Clippers owner on X, while also debunking claims from Pablo Torre, who first broke the allegations. "No chance they tried to scam the Clippers , Ballmer, Wong, his daughter, KL2 to cover up their crimes ?," Cuban wrote on X. NBA fans have since put Cuban on blast for defending Ballmer and Leonard, following his series of posts on X. Florida Dad @FLDadRebornLINK@mcuban @TheAthletic Dude, they’re not going to go back and dig into what you gave Dirk under the table. Relax.Rudy @YES102811LINK@mcuban @TheAthletic What does Ballmer have on Cuban? 🤔Rob (Rayneman) @GalacticRebirthLINK@mcuban @TheAthletic Why are you going so hard in the paint to defend Ballmer? The reporting here seems to plainly expose under the table money here. Thank God the Spurs got rid of his ass. Dudes been a cancer ever sinceOthers looked back at the time Cuban also defended former Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the NBA's ban after he was exposed of racist remarks. Jokicism🃏 @jokicgoatic15LINKNot the first time Mark Cuban has defended Clippers ownership. Remember, he was not in favor of booting Sterling from the league.Brandon Keister 🐻☘️ @bkeister34LINK@mcuban @TheAthletic The clippers are dirty in this. Stop defending your billionaire friendsRyan @findyourownUNLINK@mcuban @TheAthletic I think the only thing that comes out of this if that Pablo finds out Mark was doing the same thing. 😂😂According to Torre's initial revelations, Aspiration, an environmental company, paid $28 million to Leonard for a no-show deal. The company has since filed for bankruptcy in March 2025. Leonard is currently signed to a three-year deal worth $149.5 million with the Clippers. Last season, he only played in 37 games, averaging 21.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Anonymous employee from Aspiration details how Clippers circumvent salary capThe whole issue started when an anonymous whistleblower, formerly employed at Aspiration, spoke to Pablo Torre's "Pablo Torre Finds Out" about how Ballmer and the Clippers tried to circumvent the salary cap through the company. “I was told, ‘These are the major players and major contracts you really need to be aware of," he told Torre. "Oh, and by the way, we also have a marketing deal with Kawhi Leonard. A $28 million organic marketing sponsorship… If I had any questions about it, essentially don’t, because it was to circumvent the salary cap.'”“The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. He didn’t have to do anything," the employee added.The NBA has since launched a probe into the Clippers' alleged salary cap circumvention. The timeline of the investigation has yet to be determined.