https://reurl.cc/XQ3m43
Timeline of Kawhi Leonard, Clippers and Steve Ballmer events that led to NBA
investigation
Kawhi Leonard, 快艇与Steve Ballmer引发NBA调查事件群的时间线
原文就不全翻了 有些是当时的公关稿 不重要
July 2019
After leading the Toronto Raptors to an NBA Finals victory over the Golden
State Warriors, Leonard declined his player option and became an unrestricted
free agent. He left the Raptors after one season and joined the Clippers on a
three-year, $103 million deal. The contract had a player option for the 2021
offseason.
2019年7月
在暴龙赢过金州勇士拿下总冠军后，Leonard拒绝了球员选项并成为UFA。他在暴龙待了一
季之后以3年103M的合约加入快艇且2021年休赛季有一个球员选项。
December 2019
The NBA conducted a formal investigation into the Clippers regarding the
conduct of Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and primary advisor, while
Leonard was an unrestricted free agent in 2019. Complaints were made about
Robertson asking for improper benefits as part of Leonard’s services.
While this investigation concluded with no punishments for the team, The
Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote at the time that NBA commissioner Adam Silver “
sees salary-cap circumvention as a cardinal sin in the NBA” and that “if
any relevant evidence of improper benefits surfaces in the future, the league
will re-open the investigation and pursue the charges yet again.”
2019年12月
NBA因Kawhi Leonard的舅舅同时也是最主要顾问Dennis Robertson的行为对快艇展开正式
调查。投诉内容是关于Robertson在Leonard的服务中要求不当的好处。
虽然调查结果并没有对球队作出惩罚，Silver对Amick表示他视逃过NBA薪资上限为NBA的大
罪且如果未来有不当利益的相关证据联盟会重启这个调查并再次寻求处罚。
September 2021
The Clippers broke ground on Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., the $2 billion
arena that opened for the 2024-25 NBA season. Later that month, the Clippers
held media day at their practice facility in Playa Vista and announced a new
partnership with Aspiration, a company co-founded in 2013 by Andrei Cherny
and Joseph Sanberg. The agreement between the Clippers and Aspiration was
valued at more than $300 million and was set to go through 2043.
Before players met with the media, Ballmer sat down with Sanberg to address
the media. Sanberg spoke as if he would be a key partner with the Clippers
for the foreseeable future.
“We’re so proud to be partnered with the Clippers and Steve Ballmer in
making sure that, as we defeat the climate crisis, Inglewood and the
communities that surround Inglewood are at the front of our fight,” Sanberg
said. “So you’re going to be hearing a lot from us in the coming years
about how we’re partnered to make sure that Inglewood is thriving and one of
the first communities to exit some of the despair that’s happened because of
the climate crisis.”
When Leonard addressed the press later that month, it was the first time he
was made available since injuring his right knee in the 2021 Western
Conference semifinals three months earlier. In July of that year, Leonard
underwent knee surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Leonard declined the player option for the 2021-22 season to become an
unrestricted free agent again. While the thought was that Leonard would sign
a one-plus-one deal with the Clippers, Leonard instead chose a four-year deal
with a player option in 2024, lining up with the extension that co-star Paul
George signed eight months prior.
In what ultimately was Leonard’s only meeting with assembled media between
his June 2021 injury and his return to play in September 2022 (Leonard missed
the entire 2021-22 season), Leonard went on to explain why he took a
team-friendly deal as opposed to a contract that could maximize his earnings
in the 2022 offseason.
“Because I wanted to play,” Leonard said. “I mean, the best situation to
me was to do it one-and-one and then opt out and sign a long-term five-year
deal, but there’s a lot of concerns that that brings up for you guys and
your job and it creates storylines that I’m going to leave the team. One
thing, I wanted to secure some money, and I wanted to be able to come back if
I was able to this year. If I would have took the one-and-one, I probably
would have not played just to be cautious and opted out and took a five-year.
I’m here. I’m here to be a Clipper.”
2021年9月
快艇盖了新球场也揭幕了新的训练设施，同月底也宣布了与Aspiration的合作关系。这家
公司于2013年(比想像中还早)由Andrei Cherny与Joseph Sanberg(这个是被抓那个)所创立
。他们与快艇的合作关系价值超过300M且会延续到2043年。(这也是为什么债权人第一个列
快艇，因为欠最多)
(合作当时公关细节不重要)
在同一季，Kawhi Leonard因为ACL伤势而赛季报销。Kawhi Leonard拒绝了球员选项并重签
。虽然不少人预期他会签一纸1+1的合约(因为凑满年资薪资才能最大化)，他却签下了对球
队有利的4年合约并与Paul George的合约对齐。
2022年4月
Leonard agreed to a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration under his
company filed as KL2 Aspire, LLC, which was filed four months prior. The
arrangement allowed Leonard to be paid four times a year through March 2026.
Leonard与Aspiration以他公司KL2 Aspire LLC的名义签下28M的赞助合约，4个月后归档。
而他直到2026年3月一年将会领4次钱。
June 2022
It is worth noting that at the time of the Aspiration agreement, Leonard had
not been active on Twitter (now known as X) since 2015. He would not start
using his current verified Instagram account until the following October.
The Clippers used Aspiration in 44 tweets, starting in November 2021 on
rookie Brandon Boston Jr.’s birthday. Here is the first LA Clippers tweet
that referenced both Aspiration and Leonard (on Leonard’s birthday):
https://x.com/LAClippers/status/1542176330745204736
2022年6月
在他与Aspiration签约的当下，Leonard自2015年以后就没有活跃的推特(X)帐户。他直到
这年的10月才有他现在认证的Instagram帐户。
快艇在44则推文中使用了Aspiration，第一则是2021年11月菜鸟Brandon Boston Jr.的生
日贴文。而这边是Aspiration与Leonard第一次同时被提到的贴文(Leonard生日文)。
June 2023
The Clippers say that their partnership with Aspiration ended after the
2022-23 NBA season. The final tweet from the Clippers with Aspiration tagged
turned out to be on Leonard’s birthday, again:
https://x.com/LAClippers/status/1674472019222745088
快艇声明说他们与Aspiration的合作在22-23年球季结束后结束。而快艇有标注Aspiration
的最后一则贴文也是Kawhi Leonard的生日文。
January 2024
An eventful month for the Clippers franchise began with Leonard signing a
$153 million contract extension through 2027, with no player options. It was
Leonard’s first contract since the NBA agreed to a new collective bargaining
agreement that went into effect the previous June.
Later that month, the NBA announced that the Clippers would host 2026
All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome, even though the arena wasn’t open yet. It
was around this time that the Clippers acknowledged to the LA Times that “
the sponsorship agreement entered into between Aspiration and the L.A.
Clippers was terminated by the team last season. This in no way relieves
Aspiration from the obligations they are under contract to provide.” That
meant that Aspiration was still on the hook for the rest of the money owed to
the Clippers through 2043.
2024年1月
快艇与Leonard签下直到2027年153M的续约并没有附带球员选项。这是Leonard在新的劳资
协议后所签下的第一张合约。
一个月后NBA宣布快艇主场将会举办2026年明星赛，快艇也同时对洛杉矶时报承认他们与
Aspiration的合作关系上一季已经结束。然而Aspiration并未从合约的义务中脱离。这也
代表Aspiration仍必须支付他们欠快艇的钱直到2043年。
March 2025
Sanberg, Aspiration’s co-founder, was arrested on March 3 for conspiring to
defraud an investment fund of at least $145 million, per the U.S. Department
of Justice. By the end of March, Aspiration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
According to the agreement between Aspiration and KL2 Aspire, LLC, Leonard
was still owed $7 million from the original $28 million arrangement.
Sanberg pleaded guilty to fraud in August 2025, while the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission charged Sanberg with “raising more than $300 million
from investors based on a fraudulent scheme to generate and mislead investors
about fake revenues for environmental sustainability services.” The
investigation by the SEC is still active.
Aspiration的共同创办人之一Sandberg于3月3日被捕，他被指控诈欺了至少145M的投资。
在3月底，Aspiration宣布第11章破产重组(所以技术上来说 这家公司还没倒)。而根据
Aspiration与KL2 Aspire LLC的合约，Aspiration还欠28M款项中的7M。
Sandberg在2025年8月达成诈欺的认罪协议，但美国证券交易委员会指控Sandbert"从投资
人那边用诈欺性的规划来产生关于他们环境业务虚假的营收并误导投资人获得了超过300M
。"这项调查仍在持续。
September 2025
Before the release of Torre’s episode, the Clippers denied that the team “
circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to
Aspiration.”
In a statement provided to the podcast, the Clippers said, “Neither Mr.
Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any
misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.
The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23
season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers
nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its
co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation. The team
and Mr. Ballmer stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way they can.”
After the Pablo Torre Finds Out episode was released, the NBA said through a
league spokesman that a new investigation of the Clippers will commence. The
Clippers provided another statement to the media after the league statement:
“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap. The
notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi
Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration’s co-founders presented
themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting
the environment.
After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve
but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for
bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243
million fraud. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper
activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiated
its investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021- 2022 and 2022-
2023 seasons before defaulting on its contract.
There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement
deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers
organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement
with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.
The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league
’s rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers
will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation
into Aspiration’s blatantly fraudulent activity.”
2025年9月
在Torre的那集Podcast出来之前，快艇便已经向他发出声明否认规避薪资上限或涉及任何
与Aspiration相关的不当行为。
(声明原文 略)
在Pablo Torre Finds Out节目释出后，NBA透过联盟发言人表示将对快艇展开新的调查。
快艇之后向媒体提供另一份声明：
"无论是快艇还是Steve Ballmer都没有规避薪资上限。所谓Steve投资Aspiration是为了将
资金输送给Kawhi Leonard的说法完全荒谬。Steve投资的原因是Aspiration的共同创办人
向他展示自己致力于善待顾客并保护环境。
经过一场长期的市场操纵运动后，Aspiration不仅欺骗了Steve，也欺骗了其他众多投资人
和运动队伍，最终宣告破产。其共同创办人Joseph Sanberg近期承认犯下243M的诈欺罪。
在政府展开调查之前，无论是Steve还是快艇，都不知道Aspiration或其共同创办人有任何
不当行为。Aspiration在2021-22与2022-23赛季期间曾是球队赞助商，但之后违约。
球队赞助商与同队球员签订代言合约并不罕见或不当。无论是Steve还是快艇，都没有对
Kawhi与Aspiration的独立代言协议进行监督。说法相反的说辞完全错误。
快艇对NBA规范的遵守极为严肃，完全尊重联盟规则，并欢迎针对Aspiration的调查。快艇
也会继续配合执法部门调查Aspiration的赤裸裸诈欺行为。"
反正目前就是 这样
我自己找快艇跟Aspiration合作的部分跟记者查得差不多(毕竟公关稿都还在)
其他部分就BSJ那边爆了一个新瓜 Gambo炒冷饭炒暴龙的事情(15M)
另外，这也不是快艇第一次有相关的事情 2015年Ballmer刚当老板的时候就曾经替DeAndre
Jordan仲介了一笔Lexus价值200K的代言合约，当时联盟罚了快艇250K。
(也就是Deandre Jordan原本要跟独行侠续约结果被Chris Paul关在家里那次)

没看到可爱亲手拿钱不信