Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer says he had no idea that a sponsor of his NBA club reportedly was paying superstar Kawhi Leonard $28 million for a no-work job.

Ballmer spoke with ESPN following a podcast report by journalist Pablo Torre that the Clippers had circumvented NBA salary cap rules through a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration, one in which Ballmer was an investor.

Torre reported that Leonard signed a contract worth $28 million over four years in 2021 to market and endorse Aspiration but never did so, saying an unidentified Aspiration employee told him the payment was to get around NBA salary cap rules.

The Clippers denied the allegations in a statement, saying neither the owner nor the team engaged in any misconduct, but Ballmer made his first public comments on t

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