Steve Ballmer, Clippers discussing ‘settlement’ with NBA for Kawhi Leonard investigation

With training camp for the 2026-27 NBA season set to begin around the league in about a month, the league has yet to provide any updates on the ongoing investigation into the LA Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer, and star Kawhi Leonard for potential cap circumvention violations.

Commissioner Adam Silver pointed out in July that he hoped the investigation would conclude before the new season begins, and it appears that a little more clarity is emerging.

On August 17, ESPN published a lengthy report detailing how the NBA had not yet found any evidence to prove that Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Leonard and circumvent the salary cap. It was said in this report that the league was “focused” on Kawhi’s introduction to team sponsors and whether these constituted a violation of the league’s rules prohibiting salary cap circumvention.

The NBA responded to these reports, claiming that ESPN’s story contained “numerous and significant inaccuracies.”

“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation — for which the NBA declined to cooperate — contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said in the statement. “The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”

While there is still no telling when this investigation will conclude and what the ultimate findings will be, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne continues to shed light on the matter with key updates from the Clippers’ side of things.

“I know that the investigators have presented initial findings, but they’re still making calls and putting things together. But they are having conversations with Balmer and his lawyers already,” Shelburne told ESPN LA 710 on Thursday. “They’re talking about it. I don’t know if you would call it a settlement or some kind of negotiation, but that’s already happening.”

Despite this investigation still ongoing, Shelburne claims the conversations to this point between the league and Ballmer have not revolved around anything that would signal potential cap circumvention. Instead, the sides have been discussing his failure to monitor the situation as a whole following the initial introductions between him, Leonard, and the team sponsors.

“The conversations have been more about this failure to supervise and the nature of the introductions that were made between the Clippers and Kawhi’s people rather than direct evidence of salary cap circumvention done by Steve Ballmer. If you’re doing the easy parlance, that would be the murder charge. That’s a really serious charge that’s very hard to prove.”

So, will the Clippers and Ballmer face any penalties from this whole year-long Kawhi saga?

Although Shelburne’s reporting over the last month suggests that Ballmer won’t be hit with the “murder charge” in terms of potential cap circumvention being the worst, it is still possible other penalties and sanctions are handed down, specifically regarding his involvement in the matter and failure to supervise what was happening.

Even so, any penalties that potentially get handed out to Ballmer, the Clippers, or Leonard once this investigation concludes will certainly be contested through rounds of arbitration and appeals. Once the final verdict on the investigation is given by the league and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, more legal battles will ensue to dispute any potential wrongdoing.

Throughout the matter, Ballmer and the Clippers have remained adamant that they did nothing wrong and did not partake in any potential cap circumvention practices. In response to ESPN’s story earlier in August, the team said in a statement that Kawhi and his team handled their own negotiations with sponsors and that a player having a relationship or deal with a team sponsor is not evidence of cap circumvention.

As far as what could potentially happen with Leonard and his trade to the Toronto Raptors, which is currently on hold until more clarity on the investigation presents itself, Shelburne claimed that the Clippers would welcome Kawhi back and are fine with keeping him should the Raptors cancel the trade for any reason.

The NBA has yet to provide any timeframe for when this investigation will conclude.

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