WASHINGTON — The Los Angeles Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer are under investigation by the NBA after being accused of using a $28 million endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard to get around following the NBA’s salary cap.

On his podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” journalist Pablo Torre reported that documents show Leonard was paid through Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company Ballmer had invested in, in what a former employee described as an effort “to circumvent the salary cap.”

Ballmer invested $50 million into Aspiration in September 2021, the same month the Clippers announced a $300 million sponsorship deal with the company. In April 2022, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement agreement through his LLC, KL2 Aspire. The deal allegedly included a clause that would void pa

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