Speculation is growing that the NBA will drop the hammer in the Kawhi Leonard investigation

The Aspirations scandal got big via the Los Angeles Clippers after Pablo Torre original coverage of his podcast last fall. On his podcast Pablo Torre finds outTorre has reported on it extensively Kawhi Leonard signed a secret $28 million endorsement deal with environmental technology company Aspiration.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer served as a major investor in the company, which paid Leonard $7 million a year to be the company’s brand ambassador for four years. However, as Torre details in his report, there is there is no evidence that Leonard served as ambassador for the brand, sparking speculation that the Aspiration deal was a way for the Clippers to get around the cap and give Kawhi extra incentive to play with the Clippers.

Torre’s reporting sparked an NBA investigation, and many in NBA circles believe the Clippers will be severely punished for what happened. according to the report of The Athletic.

“In the weeks leading up to Ballmer’s big hit, there was a significant increase in speculation around the league that the NBA hammer was likely to fall on the Clippers. This was a marked shift from earlier in the season, when many seemed to believe that the Leonard/Aspiration scandal could come and go without any substantive punishment,” the report said.

Adam Silver, during media availability during All-Star weekend, spoke about the incident and the investigation. All-Star Weekend was held in Los Angeles at the Intuit Dome, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I haven’t made any decisions regarding the Clippers yet. As you know, the league office is not directly handling the investigation. It’s being overseen by the Wachtel law firm in New York. From everything I’ve been told, the Clippers have been fully cooperative. But as I said, I’m not involved in the investigation on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

He then went on to highlight the complexity of the investigation, according to comments obtained by The Athletic.

“I think, as I said before, it’s extremely complex. You have a company in bankruptcy (Aspiration, which gave Leonard a non-appearance contract allegedly facilitated by the Clippers). You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that needed to be interviewed. I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, this time has no bearing on the All-Star, the investigation. Our obligation to the Wachtell law firm is (to) do the job and then come back and we make recommendations to the league office, and that’s where things stand now.”

Despite the investigation and early season woes that led to the team’s unceremonious release of Chris Paul, the Clippers have been on the move for the past few months. They are 26-28 and have struggled to get back into the playoffs as a playoff team; they are just one game behind the Portland Trail Blazers, who are currently ninth in the standings.

Leonard has been on a tear, averaging 27.9 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals on 49.1% shooting and 91% from the free throw line. He has played 41 games so far this season – four more than the 37 he played in 2024-25. But despite their outstanding play and increased year-over-year numbers, the Aspiration scandal is still a major topic on the team, and could affect the winning push Los Angeles is heading into.

The Clippers will host the Nuggets tonight at 10:30 p.m.