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Who was responsible for that investment, as Aspiration was laying off employees and burning through money like a forest fire? That would be Dennis Wong, the Clippers vice-chairman, a minority owner 鈥� he is the only person other than Ballmer to own a slice of the Clippers 鈥� and, as it happens, Ballmer鈥檚 college roommate at Harvard. Ballmer, of course, had invested $50 million of his own money into Aspiration in 2021.

Shortly after that $50-million infusion, Leonard signed a four-year, $28-million deal with Aspiration that was never announced, with a contract that specified Leonard did not need to do anything for the money. Boston Sports Journal reported Leonard received another $20 million in stock in the company. This, too, was never announced.

And now one of Ballmer鈥檚 closest friends and partners has been found sending money just in time to cover a payment that was deemed critical within a collapsing company, to a basketball player who didn鈥檛 do anything for the company.

Basically, this story is a test of both people鈥檚 intelligence, and of the NBA itself. As the Star reported this week,聽Leonard鈥檚 uncle Dennis Robertson asked the 海角社区官网Raptors for the same set of perks in 2019 that Leonard was receiving from the Clippers in 2021: lucrative no-show sponsorships, and ownership stakes in outside companies. (Robertson, who had not done his research, presumed the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs were an outside company, and asked for a piece.)

So Leonard asked that of the Raptors, looks like he got it from the Clippers, and because the vehicle was a company that was more or less a cardboard box painted green and left in the rain, the whole thing went belly-up and just enough of the arrangement was exposed. This is smoke, and fire.

And all that said, NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke on the subject Wednesday following a board of governors meeting in New York, and he left the door open to closing the door on this. Yes, he said the commissioner鈥檚 powers are 鈥渧ery broad. Full range of financial penalties, draft picks, suspensions, etcetera. Very broad powers in these situations.鈥� And Silver said, correctly, 鈥淚 have an obligation to be the steward of the brand and the integrity of the league.鈥�

But Silver also did something very specific: he emphasized that the burden of proof is on the league, and said 鈥淚 would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety. I think the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety, because also in a public facing sport, again, the public, at times, reaches conclusions that later to turn out to be completely false.鈥�

It felt like a signal that absent actual proof, the Clippers could theoretically escape serious punishment. The 2019 investigation into Leonard and the Clippers couldn鈥檛 find proof of wrongdoing, so it鈥檚 easy to imagine this was all executed with a handshake deal between an owner and a player, and financial transactions which took place outside of team communications channels with no written statement of intent.

With a little work Silver should arrive at major penalties here: a Ballmer suspension, the forfeiture of draft picks, any fine he can finagle, perhaps the voiding of Leonard鈥檚 current contract, and maybe moving the All-Star Game. Staples Center, after all, is just across town, and nobody would have to change their hotel room.

But while this may obviously be the worst case of cap circumvention in league history, it鈥檚 at least possible that may not be enough. Silver at least seems reluctant to use the full power of his office and the leeway of the CBA based on an IQ test. And you could understand, really. Ballmer is a titan in the league, the richest owner there is, so while he may be short of explanations, he鈥檚 not short of that. It鈥檚 only the integrity of the league, after all.