Ballmer is not stupid! An eccentric owner's SNS refutation. LAC Leonard Illegal Salary Payments, Balmer Owners Defended
Sep 06, 2025
|
Former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban defended Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is suspected of Kawhi Leonard salary cap.
CBS Sports reported on the 6th (Korea Standard Time) 'After the LA Clippers reportedly bypassed star forward Kawhi Leonard and salary cap, former Dallas owner Mark Cuban defended Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer'Cuban refuted the claim in a lengthy SNS post that he provided additional salary to Leonard using his sponsorship contract with Aspiration'
On social media, he said 'I'm on Balmer's side. Steve is not that stupid. If Ballmer tried to give money even though he knew what was at stake with him and the team, would he have let the company go bankrupt? Knowing that all creditors are revealed to the world?' asked back.
Recently, the Los Angeles Clippers have been on alert. This is because he is accused of signing an illegal contract with ace Kawhi Leonard.
Investigative journalist Pablo Torre reported. Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer provided $50 million to a company called Aspiration, which filed for bankruptcy in March 2025. The fraudulent company has Kawhi Leonard's agent on its list of creditors. Espiration owes $7 million and Espiration's contract states that Leonard will be paid $28 million in cash for four years from 2022 to 2025 while playing for the Clippers.
This is the main story of Torre's report.
The key is the bypass payment of salary cap.
The circumvention of the salary cap is specified in the NBA collective agreement. Article 13 paragraph 1(b) states that if a team (or a team affiliate) enters into a contract or understanding with a sponsor, a business partner or a third party that the sponsor, business partner or third party agrees to pay or pay a player compensation for the services of basketball (even if explicitly stated as compensation for services other than basketball) pursuant to a contract with the team, this shall be deemed a violation of paragraph 1(a) above.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
