Substantial cooperation
Aspiration, through its bankruptcy trustee, and Daktronics
The report says both provided substantial cooperation to investigators.
- 73
- Interviews conducted
- 60
- People interviewed
- 200K+
- Document pages reviewed
A broad inquiry with no fixed endpoint.
Wachtell Lipton says it interviewed Clippers personnel, Leonard and his representatives, former Aspiration leaders, and people connected to Boingo, Daktronics, Lockton, and other organizations. Some people were interviewed more than once, which is why 73 interviews involved 60 people.
Investigators reviewed material from the Clippers, Ballmer's personal business office, Aspiration, and others. They also consulted the NBA and subject-matter experts as the scope expanded.
The report says the NBA placed no limit on scope or timing. It also says delays and an adversarial or obfuscatory approach from the Clippers and outside counsel slowed fact gathering, while noting that the team had every opportunity to provide information and arguments.
The evidence was not equally available.
People inside the League were required to cooperate. Outside companies and witnesses were not, producing sharply different levels of access.
Refused to cooperate
Lockton
The report identifies Lockton as a key party that declined to participate.
Cooperation ended
Boingo
The report says Boingo initially appeared to cooperate, supplied information investigators considered inconsistent or not credible, and then refused further cooperation.
Credibility was part of the fact finding.
Investigators say they assessed demeanor, bias, personal motivations, and consistency with other evidence. The report describes Frank as open, detailed, responsible for subordinates, and generally consistent. It says Zucker gave accounts that conflicted with documents, other witnesses, the chronology, or her own interviews, and at times said she could not recall important events.
The summary has explicit limits.
Confidentiality changes the level of detail
Some sources required confidentiality or non-disclosure commitments. The report says that protection can produce generalized descriptions or limited specificity.
This is not the complete evidentiary record
The investigators call the document a summary report, not an exhaustive account of the evidence. It also omits public allegations or theories that their work did not substantiate.
The record can still grow
Investigators said new information was still arriving during publication week and that they would supplement their findings when appropriate.
Consequences belong to the NBA
The report makes factual findings and says any consequences for the identified rules violations are for the NBA to determine. Investigators suggest that cooperation and credibility should inform that decision.
Guardrails for this reading interface.
These rules keep summaries useful without claiming more precision than the report provides.
- 01
Findings stay attributed
- 02
$28 million is not $48 million
The final Aspiration agreement called for $7 million in cash and $5 million in equity per year for four years. We label $28 million as the cash component and $48 million as the reported total compensation, never as interchangeable deal values.
- 03
Anonymous evidence remains anonymous
Primary source: Summary Report of Independent Investigators Concerning the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, September 2, 2026. Page references use PDF page numbers.