{"id":30857,"date":"2026-08-07T08:12:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T03:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30857"},"modified":"2026-08-07T08:12:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T03:12:41","slug":"clippers-kawhi-leonard-investigation-features-surprise-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30857","title":{"rendered":"Clippers, Kawhi Leonard investigation features surprise twist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fballmer.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261786056374\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The latest news surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard features additional evidence that the organization may have circumvented the salary cap via secret endorsement deals. <\/p>\n<p>While the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/29\/sports\/nbas-clippers-kawhi-leonard-investigation-could-go-into-2027\/\">Clippers and Leonard are being investigated<\/a> by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen &amp; Katz (the NBA\u2019s outside law firm) for a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration Partners Inc, the evidence of another suspicious sponsorship has surfaced.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>An investigation into Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers regarding circumventing the salary cap is ongoing, according to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On the \u201cPablo Torre Finds Out\u201d podcast, Pablo Torre uncovered Leonard\u2019s ties with Daktronics, the manufacturing company that installed the massive double-sided 4K \u201cHalo Board\u201d for the Clippers\u2019 new arena, the Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard was reportedly a spokesperson for Daktronics, despite the company focusing its advertising on the business-to-business model rather than celebrity endorsements.<\/p>\n<p>An insider told Torre that the sponsorship was \u201c1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap.\u201d Several high-level officials who worked on the Intuit Dome project joked about Leonard\u2019s alleged sponsorship with the manufacturing company, according to Torre\u2019s sources.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Moreover, the sponsorship was reportedly a multimillion-dollar deal between Leonard and Daktronics. Only sources say the Clippers were funding the endorsement, rather than Daktronics.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Daktronics, the manufacturer of the 4K Halo Board at the Intuit Dome, reportedly had a multimillion-dollar deal with Kawhi Leonard. <span class=\"credit\">Daktronics<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-wrapper twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: Kawhi Leonard had a hidden, multimillion-dollar &#8220;sponsorship&#8221; with Clippers&#8217; scoreboard-maker, sources tell <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PabloTorre?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@PabloTorre<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap,&#8221; insider says.<\/p>\n<p>In our investigation, Daktronics&#8217; Ballmer-linked crisis firm raises NBA probe \u2935\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LU1AeBAF44\">pic.twitter.com\/LU1AeBAF44<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/pablofindsout\/status\/2085538017347809539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Sam Koppelman of Hunterbrook Media followed up with Daktronics directly about the sponsorship. Daktronics didn\u2019t comment on the situation and instead pointed Koppelman to a crisis communications firm, where an executive sent him the following: \u201cMy understanding is Daktronics doesn\u2019t have a deal with Kawhi right now.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Investigators from Wachtell perviously looked into the unreported endorsement deal between Leonard and Daktronics. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The trade between the Clippers and Raptors for Kawhi Leonard has been put on hold amid the NBA\u2019s investigation.  <span class=\"credit\">USA TODAY Sports<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The current investigation into the Clippers and Leonard is entering its 10th month with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hoping to end the probe before the upcoming season. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard have denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be victims of fraud tied to Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the league\u2019s investigation, a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/30\/sports\/raptors-clippers-still-plan-to-complete-kawhi-leonard-trade-amid-aspiration-investigation\/\">trade between the Clippers and Toronto Raptors for Leonard is on hold<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest news surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard features additional evidence that the organization may have circumvented the salary cap via secret endorsement deals. While the Clippers and Leonard are being investigated by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen &amp; Katz (the NBA\u2019s outside law firm) for a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration Partners&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/ballmer.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1786056374&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}