Mama, there goes that man.

In the hour long video, posted on the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" Youtube channel, Pablo details potential evidence that Steve Ballmer (allegedly) used the sustainability company Aspiration, Inc (which has recently filed for bankruptcy and is now currently under federal investigation for fraud) as a potential vessel to circumvent the NBA salary cap and land star player Kawhi Leonard an extra $28 million dollars through a "no-show" endorsement deal.

The synopsis I present to you all came from this episode of "Pablo Torre Finds Out". For the full details, I greatly encourage you to watch the video.

Through the Aspiration, Inc bankruptcy filing, it was discovered that Aspiration still owed money to an entity titled "KL2 Aspire LLC", to the tune of $7 million dollars. After deciphering some of the public paperwork through the state of California, it was discovered that Kawhi Leonard was listed as a "manager or member" of this company. The LLC registration occurred in November of 2021.

Next, they ran through the endorsement agreement between Aspiration and KL2 Aspire LLC. In a nutshell, sifting through all the legal jargon and hieroglyphics, Kawhi Leonard was to be paid $28 million dollars by Aspiration in a marketing sponsorship deal. What makes it fishy is that per the terms of the agreement, he essentially didn't have to do anything. No public appearances, social media posts, etc. "You don't have to if you don't want to" is basically how it read.

Robot man certainly complied. The internet is basically void of anything that ties Kawhi Leonard publicly to Aspiration. Except this tweet, I guess.

I wonder if those trees actually got planted.

It's even weirder because they had an "avengers"-esc list of celebrities like Drake and Robert Downey Jr that all showed up in ads or gave statements for Aspiration.

Kawhi's deal was the biggest sponsorship deal that Aspiration handed out. Bigger than every other celebrity endorsement deal combined, as stated by an anonymous former Aspiration financial employee in an interview with Pablo Torre.

And the only way the deal could be terminated? If Kawhi Leonard was no longer a part of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Aspiration was set to be a major partner of the Intuit dome and the Clippers. Patch on the jersey, advertising around the stadium, the whole nine yards. That's why I bring the tweet from Nate Jones in. On the surface, it seems reasonable that the teams best player would sign a contract with a big team sponsor. In the event said player is no longer on the team, you would terminate the contract.

The main question I have is this: Do all NBA owners invest in their biggest sponsors? Ballmer joined Oaktree Capital in investing $315 million in Aspiration, Inc. Roughly $50 million was personally invested by Ballmer's personal LLC (Polpat LLC). This was shortly after Leonard signed a 4 year extension with the Clippers and when KL2 Aspire LLC was created.

The interview with the anonymous former employee is the most fascinating part of the video. The source describes being told not to ask questions about Leonard's agreement with Aspiration because Leonard's marketing deal was a way to circumvent the cap. They also explain how vibes were high when the money from the Ballmer/Oaktree investment came in, but that the funds we're spent quickly thereafter.

Again, this is an interview from an anonymous source. We don't know their motives or who they are as a person. It can't just be labeled as fact. But the interview compounded by the timeline of events will no doubt raise some eyebrows.

The Clippers have denied any wrongdoing, and I'm sure they have guard rails in place to maintain S-tier plausible deniability. I'm curious as to what happens next. Will the league open an investigation? If that happens, will Ballmer go nuclear and try and bring other owners down with him that might be engaging in the same thing?

It's certainly excellent theatre, especially with opening night being less than 2 months way. Another Pablo investigation to distract me from making boring excel charts. I'll take that any day of the week. The memes are also great:

As if Stephan A needed any more ammunition to call Kawhi a lazy bum:

Again, if you want all the finer details, watch the full video. It's absolutely worth your time.

WET BALL.

-WhataMark