New details emerge on Kawhi's alleged shadow contract! Despite claiming fraud, Ballmer continues to donate large sums to the other party's charity.

On September 29 Beijing time, the Clippers and their owner Steve Ballmer strongly denied accusations that they tried to circumvent the salary cap when signing Leonard in 2019. Since reporter Torrey exposed evidence of this potential scandal, both the Clippers and Ballmer have maintained a consistent stance, asserting that Ballmer was "deceived" by Aspiration, the core company involved in the scandal. Torrey today revealed new evidence that casts doubt on Ballmer’s claims.

It turns out thatBallmer, who previously claimed at a Sports Business Daily event in September that he was “personally defrauded,” continued to provide funding to Aspiration’s co-founder Joe Sanberg long after the company came under federal investigation.

Secretly, Ballmer donated $1.875 million to the charity run by the Aspiration co-founder who supposedly “deceived” him—this occurred a year and a half after the Clippers ended their partnership with Aspiration and while federal scrutiny was intensifying.

“That makes no sense at all,” said an insider. “If he was truly deceived and defrauded, there’s no way he’d keep funding them.”

To fully understand this situation, background is necessary: Sanberg is Aspiration’s co-founder, and the company reportedly paid Leonard $28 million under a “named position” agreement. This contract lies at the heart of the Ballmer-Leonard scandal, with allegations that the Clippers and Ballmer used this deal to bypass the NBA salary cap.

During the investigation, Torrey exposed evidence that the Clippers, Ballmer, and minority owner Dennis Wong made multiple payments to Aspiration throughout its operation, including periods of severe financial distress.

Subsequently, Aspiration apparently failed to fulfill its partnership agreement with the Clippers, leading the team to terminate their relationship after the 2022-23 season. Yet, in March 2023, near the season’s end, Ballmer still injected $10 million into Aspiration—even as 19 partners had already refused to invest due to the company's unstable finances.

Weeks after this funding, the federal government began interviewing Aspiration employees and launched an investigation into the company’s conduct.

Despite this, several months into the government probe, Ballmer, via his investment firm Ballmer Group, granted $1.875 million in December 2024 to the Golden State Opportunity Foundation—another organization run by Sanberg.

Ballmer’s continued willingness to invest in companies managed by Sanberg raises questions about his claim of being “defrauded.” If Ballmer truly believed he was deceived, why would he keep funding projects linked to the implicated individual? The timeline of Ballmer’s investments shows that even after federal authorities had been investigating Sanberg and Aspiration for some time, Ballmer provided additional financial support.

Torrey’s decision to release this information today is no coincidence—it coincides with the Clippers’ media day, when the team is almost certain to be asked about the Leonard-related scandal.However, those involved in this potential scandal are unlikely to discuss it openly during media day.

Following Torrey’s report, the NBA has reopened its investigation into Leonard’s 2019 free agency signing. The league had previously examined whether Leonard received “impermissible benefits” during his free agency but found no evidence at that time.

When asked about the investigation in September, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that any penalties against the Clippers, Ballmer, or others would require “clear and compelling evidence.” Although Torrey’s latest report does not provide “conclusive proof” to investigators, it challenges Ballmer’s narrative of being “defrauded by Aspiration”—a key defense Ballmer has used against allegations of deliberately circumventing the salary cap by signing Leonard.