databallrThe Kawhi Files

Primary findings / 05

Named in the conclusions

The report identifies Ballmer, Zucker, and Frank as the three team officials most responsible. It also finds violations by Leonard through Robertson's conduct and describes Robertson as the source of repeated demands.

GZ
01

Adverse report finding

Gillian Zucker

President of Business Operations

LA Clippers

The report identifies Zucker as the point person on all four company relationships. It finds that she initiated, facilitated, and induced Leonard endorsement agreements, including by arranging introductions, conveying proposed Aspiration terms, and giving input on a term sheet.

Evidence basis
Clippers and partner emails, texts, business-agent communications, witness interviews, and the sequence of the four deals.
Important caveat
Investigators say several of her interview statements conflicted with contemporaneous documents, other witnesses, and the wider chronology. The report calls her later account of the Clippers' Aspiration role clearly false.
Relevant period
December 2019 to September 2026
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SB
02

Adverse report finding

Steve Ballmer

Owner

LA Clippers and affiliated entities

The report finds that Ballmer knowingly sought to help Leonard obtain off-court income and personally approved the Forum agreement after learning that Sanberg had conditioned the Leonard agreement on receiving Clippers business.

Evidence basis
Frank's contemporaneous notes, internal Clippers messages, Forum approval records, Ballmer's interviews, and his September 2025 televised statements.
Important caveat
Investigators characterize Ballmer's public account of the Clippers' Aspiration involvement as inaccurate at best. They also fault his supervision and the compliance culture he permitted.
Relevant period
2015 to September 2026
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LF
03

Adverse report finding

Lawrence Frank

President of Basketball Operations

LA Clippers

The report says Frank was Robertson's main team contact, relayed Robertson's demands to Ballmer and Zucker, asked Zucker to help re-engage Aspiration, and authorized impermissible personal-expense payments.

Evidence basis
Frank's contemporaneous notes, texts with Leonard's agent, expense records, and multiple investigator interviews.
Important caveat
Investigators say Frank was generally consistent, recalled key details, discussed his conduct openly, and accepted responsibility for his subordinates. They nonetheless identify him as one of the three team officials most responsible.
Relevant period
July 2019 to September 2026
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KL
04

Adverse report finding

Kawhi Leonard

Player

LA Clippers; KL2 LBS LLC

The report finds that Leonard violated the circumvention rules through Robertson's conduct on his behalf, after that pressure produced off-court opportunities. It also finds that Leonard failed to reimburse personal expenses paid by the Clippers.

Evidence basis
Endorsement contracts and payment records, KL2 LBS formation records, expense records, interviews, and Robertson's documented conduct on Leonard's behalf.
Important caveat
The report does not issue a separate credibility assessment for Leonard. It attributes the solicitation campaign to Robertson acting for him and does not say Leonard personally made each request.
Relevant period
July 2019 to September 2026
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DR
05

Adverse report finding

Dennis Robertson

Uncle and business manager to Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard; KL2 LBS LLC

The report says Robertson repeatedly pressed the Clippers to generate endorsement income, communicated an approximately $10 million annual target, demanded a pipeline of companies, and sought help during the Aspiration negotiations.

Evidence basis
Frank's contemporaneous notes, texts, deal communications, corporate records, interviews, and the chronology of company introductions and contracts.
Important caveat
The report frames the CBA violation as Leonard's violation through Robertson's conduct on Leonard's behalf, rather than announcing a separate ultimate finding against Robertson in the conclusion.
Relevant period
July 2019 to September 2026
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Document trail / 06

Other people in the record

These people appear in emails, texts, negotiations, or internal reporting lines. The summary report does not make a culpability finding against any of them.

JS
01

Documentary actor

Joe Sanberg

Co-founder and board member

Aspiration

Sanberg pursued the Leonard endorsement, told Aspiration executives that the Clippers were asking for it, and tied the Leonard agreement to additional Clippers business. His March 2022 messages made that linkage explicit.

Evidence basis
Aspiration internal emails, Sanberg's texts, Clippers internal messages, his investigator interview, and corroborating transaction documents.
Important caveat
The report makes no NBA culpability finding against Sanberg. It notes his fraud conviction and says investigators relied on his account cautiously and, where possible, only when corroborated.
Relevant period
October 2021 to 2025-2026 investigation
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MF
02

Documentary actor

Mitch Frankel

Certified player agent to Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard

Frankel participated in the Aspiration negotiations. Zucker sought a call with him before the formal introduction, and he later asked Lawrence Frank for help when Aspiration stopped responding.

Evidence basis
Zucker's November 2021 call request and February 2022 text messages between Frankel and Frank quoted in the report.
Important caveat
The report does not identify Frankel as responsible for a violation and does not make a credibility finding about him.
Relevant period
November 4, 2021 to February 2022
SourcesPDF 25PDF 26
SS
03

Documentary actor

Scott Sonnenberg

Chief Commercial Officer

LA Clippers

Sonnenberg's internal texts described the Forum transaction as super shady and full of red flags. Sanberg also said he told Sonnenberg that the Leonard deal would fail without the Forum agreement.

Evidence basis
March 2022 internal Clippers texts and Sanberg's March 30 message to the business agent.
Important caveat
The report quotes Sonnenberg as raising concerns and makes no culpability finding against him.
Relevant period
March 2022 to March 30, 2022
SourcesPDF 29PDF 31
EC
04

Documentary actor

Eric Chan

Chief Financial Officer at the time

LA Clippers

Chan participated in Forum agreement discussions and relayed Sanberg's threat inside Ballmer's business organization. A draft term sheet assigned him the placeholder for $7 million in annual business back.

Evidence basis
The January 2022 Forum draft, March texts with Sonnenberg, and March 30-31 messages to Brandt Vaughan.
Important caveat
The report uses Chan's communications as evidence that Clippers executives understood the linkage. It does not identify him as one of the responsible individuals or make an adverse finding against him.
Relevant period
January 2022 to March 31, 2022
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AW
05

Documentary actor

Alex Winsberg

General Counsel at the time

LA Clippers

Sanberg wrote that he had spoken with Winsberg and Chan while threatening to end the Leonard deal and the wider Clippers relationship if the Forum agreement was not fixed.

Evidence basis
Sanberg's March 30, 2022 text to the business agent, as quoted in the report.
Important caveat
The summary does not quote Winsberg directly, describe his response, or make a culpability finding against him.
Relevant period
March 30, 2022 to March 30, 2022
SourcesPDF 31
BV
06

Documentary actor

Brandt Vaughan

Chief Investment Officer at the time

Steve Ballmer's personal business office

Vaughan was the recipient of Chan's March 30-31 communications recording Sanberg's threat and asking whether Ballmer understood that the Leonard deal depended on the Forum agreement.

Evidence basis
Internal messages from Chan to Vaughan quoted in the report.
Important caveat
The summary does not quote a response from Vaughan and makes no culpability finding against him.
Relevant period
March 30, 2022 to March 31, 2022
SourcesPDF 32

Background / 02

Prior case and public trigger

These names provide context for the Clippers' prior notice of the rules and the publication that triggered the 2025 investigation.

DJ
01

Context only

DeAndre Jordan

Player the Clippers were seeking to sign in free agency

LA Clippers context

Jordan appears in the report's account of a 2015 endorsement-related circumvention violation that resulted in a $250,000 fine for the Clippers.

Evidence basis
The report's summary of the NBA's 2015 investigation and penalty.
Important caveat
Jordan is background to the organization's prior notice of the rules. This report makes no finding against him.
Relevant period
2015 to 2015
SourcesPDF 10
PT
02

Context only

Pablo Torre

Name associated with the podcast that first aired the allegations

Pablo Torre Finds Out

The report says the podcast published the first in a series of episodes alleging Clippers salary-cap circumvention, prompting the NBA to retain Wachtell Lipton shortly afterward.

Evidence basis
The executive summary's account of the September 3, 2025 publication and the investigation it triggered.
Important caveat
The summary report names the program and recounts its allegations. It does not evaluate Torre personally or attribute each reporting step to him individually.
Relevant period
September 3, 2025 to September 3, 2025
SourcesPDF 2