Silver says NBA must finish Kawhi Leonard probe before season starts

Adam Silver said the NBA must finish its Kawhi Leonard investigation before the season starts, putting a firm endpoint on a probe that has already stretched across nearly 10 months and widened beyond its original scope. The inquiry began in September 2025 and is being led by outside counsel Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, with investigators examining allegations that a $28 million endorsement arrangement with Aspiration was used to skirt the salary cap.

The case has become a test of how aggressively the league polices player compensation and team conduct under its collective bargaining rules. Silver said in June that the matter was “enormously complex” and needed to be wrapped up soon, and the latest timeline makes clear the league wants a conclusion before training camps and preseason games turn the issue into a live competitive distraction.

Kawhi Leonard and his uncle and business adviser, Dennis Robertson, were interviewed by league investigators in June 2026. The focus has centered on a deal Leonard signed in April 2022 through his LLC, KL2 Aspire, a four-year, $28 million endorsement agreement with Aspiration, the green banking company that later went bankrupt. The arrangement drew added scrutiny after reports that a Clippers limited partner invested $1.99 million in Aspiration nine days before the company made a late $1.75 million payment to Leonard.

The scope of the probe has reportedly expanded beyond Aspiration to include a previously unreported endorsement deal with a second company, raising the possibility that investigators are not looking at a single contract but a broader pattern of conduct. That matters because the NBA is trying to determine whether the Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer crossed the line from sponsorship and business relationships into salary-cap circumvention, a violation that can trigger severe penalties if proven.

The investigation is already affecting team business. The reported Raptors-Clippers trade involving Leonard was agreed June 30, 2026, but the Raptors and Clippers said July 9 that the deal would remain on hold until the NBA finishes its inquiry. With the current collective bargaining agreement running through June 30, 2030, the league has a clear incentive to settle the Leonard matter now rather than let it linger into a new season and a new round of roster decisions.