"This too shall pass"- Steve Ballmer responds to Kawhi Leonard investigation, insists Los Angeles Clippers did nothing wrong

Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, is currently being investigated for allegedly evading the salary cap with star forward Kawhi Leonard. However, he claimed to be innocent and apparently doesn't mind the NBA investigating him.

On Tuesday, he expressed his approval of the NBA's inquiry into the matter. He also reaffirmed his remarks and hinted that the NBA's probe will turn up nothing unusual. During an interview, he further said that “this too shall pass.”

Steve Ballmer addresses Aspiration controversy, says Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard deals were independent

Steve Ballmer reportedly invested $50 million in 2021 in Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company, according to Pablo Torre. Later, Kawhi Leonard and the company reportedly reached an endorsement agreement that allegedly required almost nothing of him.Now, Ballmer claimed that he has nothing to hide and the NBA investigating him will not find anything. He made such remarks while appearing as a guest speaker at the Sports Business Journal's Drive event. At one point, the host said:“I know that you've had a lot going on including allegations against the team about the partnership with aspiration and know if you want to address it right off. Sure, we're not, we're not, this is not a fun thing to be through. I was personally defrauded through our interactions with the company and some of the staff…”He then replied:“The fraud sort of extended broadly through that. We had many relationships with the company sponsor, activation was through carbon credits, all a bunch of complicated stuff. But the important thing is our relationship with the company and our players' relationship with the company were independent, which is important under the rules of the NBA…”

Ballmer also claimed that he had been duped and that the NBA would discover that Leonard's relationship with Aspiration and the L.A.

Clippers' relationship with Aspiration were "independent."He continued:“I feel quite confident that we abided by the rules. And so I welcome the investigation that the NBA is doing. It's a great way from our perspective to get the facts out there. And as I say, there's nothing fun about being highlighted in this way. It's a whole lot more fun to be highlighted for building a great arena. But this too shall pass… And like I said, I feel very good about what we did and we welcome the NBA, taking a look at it and hopefully agreeing with us…”

NBA investigates Steve Ballmer, Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard after $28M alleged Aspiration deal

For context, the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer, and Kawhi Leonard made the news since Pablo Torre’s claims of possible salary cap evasion. The NBA is now looking into Ballmer, the Clippers, and Leonard after it was revealed that a company Ballmer invested in paid Leonard $28 million for "no-show jobs" in an apparent attempt to get around the NBA's pay cap.

Journalist Pablo Torre reportedly uncovered the whole thing and in his "Kawhi Leonard Signed a Secret $28M Deal” podcast episode, he revealed everything. Torre then described how Leonard reportedly broke NBA regulations by accepting money from a now-bankrupt company in addition to his club salary. Torre made enough connections to start the NBA's investigation in the matter. Following these revelations, Ballmer and the Clippers refuted the claims, claiming that Aspiration had misled Ballmer and that he had "no oversight" into Leonard's independent endorsement deal with Aspiration.Also read: Smoking gun’ emerges in Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers Aspiration payment controversy