After reports surfaced that the Clippers allegedly funneled $28M to Kawhi Leonard through the now-bankrupt company Aspiration, the team released a statement via [Shams Charania]: “Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap… The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd.” The statement says Ballmer was one of many investors defrauded by Aspiration’s co-founder Joseph Sanberg, who has since pled guilty to a $243 million fraud scheme. The Clippers insist Kawhi’s endorsement deal with Aspiration was independent, adding they “take NBA compliance extremely seriously” and will fully cooperate with the league’s investigation. So where do you stand: is this just bad optics, or do you think the Clippers should still face punishment? #KawhiLeonard #Clippers #SteveBallmer #NBA #NBANews #BasketballDebate #Sports