Adam Silver Issues First Comments on Alleged Phony Endorsements for Kawhi Leonard

Silver addressed allegations from journalist Pablo Torre that the Clippers were involved in arranging back door no-show endorsements for Kawhi Leonard.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the phony endorsement allegations against Clippers star Kawhi Leonard. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued his first public comments on Wednesday since reporting from podcaster Pablo Torre alleged that the Clippers funneled star forward Kawhi Leonard $28 million through a no-show endorsement deal with a sustainability-focused financial company called Aspiration.

Torre reported that unnamed sources within the company said the deal with Leonard was made to circumvent the salary cap.

Silver said Wednesday that when the reporting broke, it was news to him, but that the league has hired external counsel to investigate.

"When the podcast came out, it was news to me," Silver said on Wednesday. "I frankly never head of the company Aspiration before, and I never heard a whiff of anything around an endorsement deal with Kawhi or anything around an engagement with the Los Angeles Clippers. ... [We] had a conversation with Steve Ballmer and determined quickly this was something that rose to the level that necessitates an investigation—in fact—one that's done outside of our office. Wachtell-Lipton, a law firm that we have used in the past for investigations in the past is overseeing it..." Silver added.

Silver added that he's been around the league long enough that he believes in "due process and fairness" and to let the investigation run its course.

It remains to be seen if any punishment will be doled out to Leonard or the Clippers.

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