Mark Cuban Defends Steve Ballmer Amid Controversial Kawhi Leonard Reports

The NBA offseason has been quiet the last few weeks, maybe too quiet. With no new news coming out regarding the key restricted free agents in Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey, Cam Thomas, or Quentin Grimes, fans are anxiously waiting to see how these players decide their future with their respective franchises.

However, the silence in the NBA didn't continue into Wednesday, as news broke in the morning from The Athletic's Pablo Torre that Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funded $50 million to a tree-planting company that signed star Kawhi Leonard to a $28 million endorsement deal with speculation to circumvent the salary cap.

Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard signed a $28M endorsement deal for a "no-show job" with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, according to documents obtained by @PabloTorre.

"It was to circumvent the salary cap," an inside source says. pic.twitter.com/F6z5pNEkI1
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) September 3, 2025

If Torre's reporting is proven to be true, and the NBA investigates to confirm, the Clippers could be in for some serious punishments. And as was reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, it appears as though the NBA will be looking into this.

However, that doesn't mean there aren't any parties contesting Torre's reporting. Speaking out on social media, ex-Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban sent a message to Torre about where he stands amid this controversy.

Mark Cuban's Stance

I’m on Team Ballmer.

As much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap, First Steve isn’t that dumb. If he did try to feed KL money, knowing what was at stake for him personally, and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt ? Knowing all creditors would… https://t.co/AxvMoLmPv7
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 3, 2025

"I’m on Team Ballmer," Cuban wrote. "As much as I wish they circumvented the salary cap, First Steve isn’t that dumb. If he did try to feed KL money, knowing what was at stake for him personally, and his team, do you think he would let the company go bankrupt ? Knowing all creditors would be visible to the world ?"

As fellow businessmen and NBA owners, it's no surprise that Cuban is coming to Ballmer's defense. The extent of their relationship is unknown, but it appears as though Cuban has some relationship with Balmer if he's backing him up amid all of this.

"It’s sad that [Pablo Torre] didn’t take the time to find out how these scammers pulled off their scam. The idea that the default is Ballmer is the bad guy is going to back fire on him," Cuban added.

Just sent you a dm. Happy to https://t.co/DqkaCVOVS8
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 3, 2025

Seeing this, Torre responded to Cuban, asking him to come on his podcast to discuss the case at hand. And from Cuban's response, it appears as though the successful businessman could be joining Torre to do so in the near future.

With the Clippers set to host the 2026 All-Star game and NBA Finals aspirations for next season, this will be an interesting case to follow in the coming weeks.

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Mark Cuban's Stance

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