Independent sports reporter Pablo Torre recently broke a story with a high degree of relevance to the Los Angeles Clippers. It has been alleged that in conjunction with the team, Kawhi Leonard signed a multi-year marketing deal with a Southern California-based tree brokerage called Aspiration back in 2021. Now, the firm has filed for bankruptcy.
Torre was provided with a list of creditors on the legal document attached to the organization's bankruptcy filing. These entities are the ones Aspiration still owes money to, and the LA Clippers are the top name on the list. If you look down the list just a few names, you'll find KL2 Aspire, LLC, which according to Torre, was established that same year.
Basically what has been alleged here is that Aspiration agreed to pay Leonard a $28 million endorsement deal, but what's interesting is that it doesn't appear he was actually required to do anything of note as part of the agreement. Torre states that he could find no public record of Kawhi ever promoting or mentioning the organization in any way.
Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a "no-show job" with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, according to documents obtained by @PabloTorre.
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025
"It was to circumvent the salary cap," an inside source says. pic.twitter.com/F6z5pNEkI1
Kawhi Leonard allegedly agreed to a $28M deal with Aspiration, Inc.
To find out more on this situation, Torre put on a show of investigative journalism genius and sent out interview requests to dozens of former employees of Aspiration, seven of which ultimately agreeing to interviews. In a conversation with someone he described as "very important" within the organization's finance department, Pablo discovered quite a few more details.
"I didn't so much as discover it as I was told about it," the anonymous former employee said. "My reaction was, 'what the f---?' And I was told, oh, these are the major contracts and the major players you really need to be aware of.
"And we went through a litany of really, really top tier name contracts, and then oh, by the way, we also have a marketing deal with Kawhi Leonard. A $28 million organic marketing sponsorship deal with Kawhi, and that if I had any questions about it, essentially don't, because it was to circumvent the salary cap, lol. There was lots of 'lol' when things were shared."
When asked if they ever saw any proof of Leonard endorsing or promoting Aspiration at all, the former employee was blunt. "Never, not once," they said. "The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. It's honestly incredible. Nothing. You didn't have to do anything ... It's amazing, I'm honestly so jealous."
To give their side of the story, the Clippers provided a statement to Torre as well. It reads: Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.