Mark Cuban publicly defended Steve Ballmer following reports that the Los Angeles Clippers potentially circumvented salary cap rules through an endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard. Cuban made his remarks on X, dismissing allegations that Ballmer orchestrated the scheme.
The controversy stems from Pablo Torre’s report regarding the Clippers’ relationship with now-bankrupt company Aspiration. Torre suggested the organization may have violated NBA salary cap regulations through endorsement arrangements with Leonard.
Cuban, who sold his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks in 2023, noted that Aspiration executives pleaded guilty to fraud charges last week. Cuban suggested the scammers independently used stolen investor money to support the Clippers through legitimate sponsorship deals.
Cuban referenced Aspiration’s substantial $300 million sponsorship agreement with the Clippers in 2021. He argued this represented a legitimate business relationship where the company’s success depended on team performance, creating natural incentives for additional investment.
“I’m on Team Ballmer,” wrote Cuban.
“As much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap, First Steve isn’t that dumb. If he did try to feed KL money, knowing what was at stake for him personally, and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt? Knowing all creditors would be visible to the world?
They got scammed by Aspiration, along with many others. Crimes for which they pleaded guilty last week.
Scammers do scammy things. They did a $300m sponsorship deal with the clippers in 2021. That’s a HUGE deal. The better the team does, the more value the sponsorship has. It actually makes perfect sense that if they stole money from investors and want the clippers to succeed, why not give stolen money to help keep their best player?
It’s sad that @PabloTorre didn’t take the time to find out how these scammers pulled off their scam. The idea that the default is Ballmer is the bad guy is going to back fire on him.”
Torre responded to Cuban’s defense by inviting him to appear on his podcast for further discussion. Cuban accepted the invitation, agreeing to participate.