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Haha lol.

 

Pretty much the entire league is a boring brand of basketball with cry babies running the show, not enough practice time to be fluid and awful defense. I'm just glad the Lakers have Luka now so I can at least enjoy them again. Support your local highschools, much better ball.

 

If this is the case, find some proof that sticks, and make an example of them. That's cheating that helped them build a better team.

 

no, see--unless there's a document signed by both mark walter and jokic claiming that the purchase of serbia was a condition of his signing, then you've just been outfoxed by ol' mark walter.

oh and also the contract must be for the max, because it's only cheating if it makes it possible to use the mid level exception when you shouldn't have been able to.

and i'm actually being serious that if this is ok, we need to exploit the hell out of it, yesterday. just figure out the dollar amount that denver can't possibly match with jokic, funnel it to some plausible entity that writes him a contract that stipulates he gets this money if he plays for the lakers only, and wait until 2027 free agency.

again, of course, the league would suddenly find its brain and stop this.

 

Our community just opened a new High School and the bball arena looks like a small college one. So very nice. I will be attending some games for sure. The football stadium is wild as well.

 

So the owner wins either way, but the message, that you are sending to the players, is don't take less than your max, if you sign a big endorsement deal, or don't take the max and sign a big endorsement deal, because both " could" be viewed as circumventing the salary cap? Then your contract could be voided, so it's all on you

They are never going to find a paper trail, that shows Ballmer explicitly investing 50M into that company, with the purpose of paying some of that money to the Hyena. That's just isn't going to happen. That guy didn’t get that rich being stupid. He has a pretty strong case, to say that he got conned, into making the investment. The 330M sponsorship deal was some BS all along, and Inspiration knew it. Hell... they were found guilty, of defrauding everybody. I just don't see anything happening here.

 

I guarantee you that not one of those employees, have anything written, to be able to substantiate that statement. They were " told".

 

yeah, ballmer's going to plead ignorance and it'll probably work. something like "yes, i invested money into this company but i wasn't the one in control of what they were doing with the money."

even though it's pretty clear and obvious that he was in on it considering kawhi was their highest paid sponsorship over the likes of leo and drake who are actual a-list celebs and had it specifically written in his deal with aspiration that the deal would end once he wasn't playing for the clips anymore

but unless there's something in writing directly tying ballmer to this, i can't see the clips getting anything harsher than losing a couple 1st rounders and a fine

 

Well that’s the hoped for “point” …. losing some first round picks at LEAST plus whatever else after getting caught a 2nd time. Unrealistic to consider him being forced to sell.

 

yeah, there's just no way to explain it. cuban tried to say "scammers do scam stuff", but in this case, they're scamming...themselves? didn't they actually pay out 21 million?

it's absolute garbage, and they're treating us all like we're idiots. again, not sure why folks seem to be enjoying ballmer getting away with it by just...lying. his story is preposterous. it's an insult.

if the nba wants to treat its fans like idiots, it may lose a bunch.

 

Kawaii was lazy and didn’t do anything. If he would’ve worked this wouldn’t be a story. All he had to do was show up and plant a plant.

it’s so funny.

Team sponsor yeah shake hands do the carwash plant the plant.

okay.

companies always do deals like this. And you do a ad with the top players.

NBA started putting company names on Jerseys so players were going to be getting into bed with companies like this.

Nobody will see a dime. Aspiration f***ed everybody. Kawaii didn’t put any money in it.

Ballmer put 50 million in it. He doesn’t get a dime back. If I’m Ballmer I’m putting hands on somebody saying give me my money.

this guy was a mini madoff

these fraud companies have been in the league.

back in the 2010s the rage were the wristbands everybody had those they even sponsored Sacramento’s arena for a while. Then we all found out the company was a fraud.

I’m sure if Ballmer did wrong his team would’ve told him to admit. You don’t want to lie.

they won’t force him to sale. They forced Sterling to sale because he was a racist. He got caught illegally being recorded saying racist things. And people thought he should still keep his team.

Ballmer was always cast seen as the nice guy. Hey we’re gonna do things nice here. I’m in the NBA I’ll buy it for 2 billion. Team valuations go up. So he’s not going anywhere.

there’s no owners association but wait Silver works for them.

in a perfect NBA Ballmer and Kawaii would be suspended for the year.

but with the NBAPA you can’t do that. Kawaii will say issue a statement I didn’t know these guys were fraudsters. It was just an endorsement deal. I lent my name and likeness.

So at the most out of ignorance this cost the Clippers a 1st round draft pick and 5 million dollar fine.

 

Ummm .... all the above does NOT compute with what you now say below. NO! He and Kawhi got exactly what they both wanted out of Balz's 50M except Snake didn't get to collect the last 7M and the 20M in stock options.

 

Cuban was so full of it in his interview. I heard parts of Uncle Fester's interview and he sounded equally full of it.

I'm not sure how people are defending this.

 

We’ll see.

 

LOL .... some at ESPN not buying Ballz's story. And a link at the bottom after this story even has Cuban hedging his support now.

Clippers’ Steve Ballmer interview draws ‘fishy’ take from Brian Windhorst
Story by



Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Josue Pavon, ClutchPoints
September 5, 2025 at 8:15 AM PDT·
2 min read

The post Clippers’ Steve Ballmer interview draws ‘fishy’ take from Brian Windhorst appeared first on ClutchPoints.

As the NBA world reacts to the allegations surrounding Los Angeles Clippersowner Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst weighed in on the potential scandal. Ballmer said he has not spoken to Leonard in an interview with ESPN’s SportsCenter. However, could the Clippers’ owner come out of all of this with a slap on the wrist or a minor penalty?

Windhorst discussed the potential aftermath of the situation alongside Tim MacMahon and Ramona Shelbourne after Ballmer’s interview on SportsCenter, per ESPN’s Hoop Collective.

“It’s one thing, obviously, this company was bleeped up and there was a lot of stuff going on,” Windhorst said. “So, the idea that they might sign anybody and then never use him, even though I know it’s fishy, you could present it as just incompetence.”

Still, the unspoken move is shady for a marketing deal.

“OK, he does an endorsement deal with a team sponsor,” Winhorst said. “He didn’t do any endorsing. He didn’t do anything.”

That’s the part that could come back to bite the Clippers, potentially revealing Ballmer’s wrongdoing was intentional.

“It wasn’t even announced,” Shelbourne said, to which MacMahon replied, “Yeah, that’s the thing, it was not an endorsement deal because there was no endorsement.”

Plus, the reported $28 million figure only makes matters worse.

“It’s $28 million,” MacMahon added. “How many guys have $28 million shoe deals?”

For a marketing deal that was never announced or promoted, it feels as if the entire move was a sham from its inception according to Brian Windhorst.

“The two things to me that stick out here as fishy, one, that they do this deal and it’s never announced,” Windhorst added. “The entire concept of it was to be marketing.”

Steve Ballmer has not spoken to Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer denied involvement with Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration, which is at the center of the NBA’s investigation. In his first appearance since the accusation went public, Ballmer spoke with ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne via SportsCenter.

“I have not [spoken to Leonard about the allegations], no,” Ballmer said. “It’s really his business with Aspiration, so I wouldn’t ask about it, no.”

While the NBA is in the middle of conducting a formal investigation, no announcements have been made this week.

Related: Why Mark Cuban believes Uncle Dennis’ Aspiration involvement could doom Clippers’ Steve Ballmer

Related: Why Mark Cuban fully supports ‘Team Ballmer’ amid Aspiration allegations

 

Ballme r says to send the blonde receptionist over to his house, when this is all over!!!

 

Facts

I was right this is Uncle Dennis. Kawaii needs to fire Uncle Dennis. Which I see happening.

you have to distance yourself from the culprit just like Ohtani did with his interpreter.

Steve Ballmer hasn’t spoken to Kawaii so it doesn’t look guilty.

But I will say you don’t have to announce a sponsorship or partnership for it to be legit.

plenty players do quiet partnerships in China Other countries.

I had no idea Kobe was sponsored with Turkish airlines until the commercial.

Kawaii could’ve simply had a plant on his postgame presser like players would have Body Armour.

it’s simple. He could say we couldn’t figure out the marketing play. I got busy with the season my team didn’t get the logistics to me. The company never came with a marketing plan that fits my brand.

I get paid regardless for my endorsements. I lent my name. Didn’t know I was obligated to do public promotion speaking.

I don’t like talking a lot.

so it’s not up to Windhorst to say what’s right promotion.

it’s publicized that Leo DiCaprio and Drake are endorsers did we see any promotion adds from them????

I’m just stating all facts.

Now Kawaii should’ve done work. But if you know Kawaii he’s not doing s***. And if you keep asking him he won’t do s***.

what’s the add we see him in????? New balance. But yet he sales other stuff.

Maybe aspires promotion marketing budget was not organized.

I’m arguing the defense of Ballmer Kawaii there are plenty of Lawyers who will take this. NBA doesn’t want to go there. Silvers a lawyer. I met him.


This is all hearsay as we say in Law.

where is the factual evidence??? Paper trail Check Money Contract??? Email???? Correspondence between Ballmer Kawaii.

you would need whistleblowers they won’t get which would be Lawrence Frank Gillean Zucker all parties who were privy to this deal.

on Kawaiis side would be his representation.

Aspire whistleblowers don’t mean s***. They are fraudsters trying to save their a**.

As I’ve stated this is an Uncle Dennis Payment from jump. That’s where the 28 million went. Kawaii doesn’t need 28 million.


Clearing $400 million makes no sense. But a man with documented trying to hustle houses ownership and money sounds like Uncle Dennis.

talked his nephew into getting equity in the company that would grow his wealth.

the company got Uncle Dennis to push Kawaii and promised him a 28 million dollar bag. As their company was faking robbing people to pay others. Ponzi. That’s why I said Madoff.

Kawaii can play ignorance and say I don’t know any of this. This was my team and I was misled.

Ballmer made a bad investment and lost 51 million. But supported it because it was a partner that was going to give us a huge endorsement. I was supporting kawaii and believe in the company.


Now the investigation will center around from Silver was Ballmer and Kawaii both aware of the direct payment to kawaii for 28 million or was this a third party.????

how that is answered will depend on how this is handled.

I predict Uncle Dennis will be the one who says this money was for me. And my nephew wasn’t aware of what was going on.