Pablo Torre Finds Out

Episode: "The Briefcase, Ballmer's Social Network and Aspiration's House of Cards: Kawhi-Gate Part VII"

Date: January 9, 2026

Guests: Amin (NBA Front Office Executive), David Sampson (Former Marlins President)

Episode Overview

This episode dives even deeper into what’s now widely referred to as "Kawhi-Gate": the alleged $48 million no-show endorsement scheme connecting Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, the climate change startup Aspiration, and superstar Kawhi Leonard. Pablo Torre, alongside David Sampson and NBA executive Amin, presents newly unearthed documents, emails, and correspondences that further detail the murky relationship and raise fresh questions about what the Clippers, and Ballmer himself, knew — and when.

The episode skillfully unpacks the evidence, tracks the interconnected social and financial networks at play, and scrutinizes the ongoing NBA investigation. Pablo leverages his trademark investigative tone, combining sharp reporting with humorous asides and candid table reads with his guests, to bring listeners up to speed on one of the most complicated recent scandals in pro sports.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Aspiration Scandal’s Current State

• Recap: Since the last episode, the scandal appeared dormant publicly, but much has continued behind the scenes, especially in New York where the NBA's hired law firm, Wachtel Lipton, is running an internal investigation.
• Pablo reaffirms the seriousness, citing nine sources inside Aspiration who allege Steve Ballmer funneled $48 million to Kawhi via a secret contract, circumventing NBA salary rules. (03:32)

2. Inside the NBA’s Internal Investigation

• Wachtel Lipton, the NBA’s law firm, demanded confidentiality regarding the meeting with Pablo and David Sampson.
• Pablo brought selected documents as evidence, but is careful not to disclose anything that happened inside the meeting due to legal restrictions. (09:05)
  • Notable quote:
    “Everything that happened inside the headquarters walked out. Lipton. They cannot be described in public.” — Pablo Torre [09:20]

3. The Document Drop: New Evidence Revealed

A. Endorsement Contract Details

• KL2 Aspire LLC (Kawhi’s entity) and Aspiration’s agreement stipulated deliverables like autographed items.
  • Quote:
    “If requested to do so by company, KL2 shall cause Leonard to be available to sign 50 autographed items.” — David Sampson [11:44]
• Amin notes these kinds of deliverables suggest a real relationship, not merely a paper agreement.
• When pressed, Clippers PR refused interviews due to the ongoing investigation. [12:16]

B. Email Trail—Clippers' Awareness

• August 2022 Aspiration internal email shows clear intent to involve the Clippers in Kawhi’s Aspiration-related obligations.

  • Quote:
    “Since we haven’t publicly announced this endorsement deal...is it okay to talk about this quiet partnership with the Clippers partnership team?” — Amin (as Aspiration's DBM) [19:18]
  • Chief Legal Officer responds: “I believe the Clippers are well aware.” — David Sampson (as Mike Shukaro, Aspiration CLO) [19:53]

• The merchandise requests and the marketing coordination go through a Clippers marketing director, directly contradicting public Clipper denials of awareness.

C. Financial Ties: The Wong Wire

• Clippers co-owner Dennis Wong signed a $1.99m investment into Aspiration when Kawhi’s quarterly $1.75m payment was overdue.
  • This contribution came after numerous red flags: company default, auditor resignations, ongoing FINRA and SEC investigations. [24:05]
  • Raises question: was Clipper money used to pay Kawhi?

D. Text Evidence—Salary Cap Circumvention

• Texts between Aspiration execs reveal concern about salary cap circumvention:
  • Quote:
    “Ballmer has to be in on the take. I am so suspicious of him. Especially with the salary cap and Kawhi and just all the shady dealings.” — David Sampson (Blue Bubble) [27:04]

4. The Social Web: Ballmer, Sandberg, and Friends

• Public statements from Ballmer and his group distance him from Aspiration founder Joe Sandberg, but evidence of deep prior ties surfaces:
  • Donations from Ballmer Group to Sandberg’s charity began as early as 2018 ($1.875m donation in 2024), well before any alleged sponsorship approach.
  • Photo evidence and documents show Doc Rivers (then Clippers coach/president) and family trusts invested in Aspiration in 2018–19, predating Kawhi’s free agency.
    • Quote:
      “They have a relationship with The Clippers in 2018.” — Amin [43:29]
  • Internal Clipper-Aspiration contact and mutual investments extend back years — contradicting the "hardly knew each other" defense from Ballmer’s camp. [45:34]

5. The Penthouse Paper Trail

• Pablo traces the acquisition of a luxury penthouse by a Kawhi/Uncle Dennis–controlled LLC (Lavish Mountain) the day after its creation, purchased from Larry W. Keel, co-founder of major Aspiration investor Oaktree Capital. [50:43–53:12]
  • Significance: Demonstrates how the social/financial network facilitated player benefits, directly linking Clippers financiers, Aspiration, and Kawhi’s camp.

6. The Bobblehead Smoking Gun

• March 2023: The Clippers produce a Kawhi Leonard bobblehead sponsored by Aspiration (logo visible on the physical item), but their social media post digitally removes the logo, in contrast to past and future bobblehead promotions.
  • Quote:
    “The month before Kawhi’s aspiration bobblehead… Nicholas Batum’s bobblehead was sponsored by Cedar Sinai… Aspiration logo is missing [from social media].” — Pablo Torre [60:09–60:41]
  • Amin and David deduce the logo was photoshopped out to avoid public controversy amid Aspiration’s insolvency and mounting press scrutiny. [62:13]
• Conclusion: These secretive edits and irregularities provide strong circumstantial evidence that the team knew about — and endeavored to obscure — the tie between their superstar, their owner, and Aspiration.

7. Sophisticated, Not Sloppy

• Amin rebuts critics (like Mark Cuban) who call the scandal "sloppy":
  • Quote:
    “Look how much work and how much digging… you, Pablo, and your wonderful team had to do for us to uncover any of it. This wasn’t sloppy. This was sophisticated.” — Amin [66:17]

Notable Quotes & Interactions

• “In our contract, Kawhi will sign 50 items… I believe Joe Sandberg will want some of the signed swag.” — David Sampson (as Aspiration CLO Mike Shukaro) [18:15]
• “The only things worth signing are NBA official game jerseys and NBA official game basketballs. I am certain Joe Sandberg will want some of the signed swag.” — David Sampson [18:15]
• "There has to be a level of knowledge, right? You don't operate independently." — Amin [21:21]
• "This social network was not only geographically tight, they were investing years before all of this." — Pablo Torre [45:17]
• "It's not everyone wants it to be like, aha, we got it. That's the house that he asked for. No, it's just demonstrating yet again, there's no way these people don't know each other." — Amin [54:03]
• "Did Steve Ballmer's Clippers know that the KL2Aspire deal existed? Were they in fact well aware and behaving so shadily because of that? ...I do think that he is nodding yes." — Pablo Torre, referencing the Kawhi bobblehead [67:10]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:30 — Pablo summarizes new sources and the gravity of the investigation
• 09:05–10:26 — Discussion on legal confidentiality and what can/can’t be shared
• 11:09–13:32 — Table reads of contracts and details of the sponsorship
• 18:15–20:20 — Email chain: "The Clippers are well aware."
• 23:22–24:34 — Stock purchase agreement; Dennis Wong's $1.99m investment
• 27:04 — Text messages about "salary cap and Kawhi and just all the shady dealings"
• 36:04–38:47 — Timeline manipulations and Ballmer's public statements
• 42:28–43:41 — Doc Rivers’ involvement and investment connections
• 50:43–54:16 — The penthouse purchase: tracing Lavish Mountain LLC
• 58:44–60:41 — The aspiration bobblehead: missing logo and Twitter evidence
• 66:17 — Amin debunks “sloppiness” critique, arguing for sophistication of the coverup
• 67:10–end — Pablo summarizes and asks "Did the Clippers know?"

Podcast Tone & Style

• Balanced Journalism: Deep reporting combined with moments of levity and transparency about what can be shared.
• Dry Humor & Banter: Frequent jokes about legal protocol, “pupil dilation” reading lawyer-subjects, and the aesthetics of bobbleheads.
• Transparent Attribution: Table reads, document walkthroughs, and real-time reactions preserve the feeling of real investigation.

Takeaway

This episode marshals damning circumstantial evidence challenging the Clippers’ and Ballmer’s denials of knowledge regarding the Aspiration–Kawhi deals. Carefully mapped connections — financial records, contracts, emails, digital forensics on social media — imply a sophisticated, deliberate system for channeling unsigned benefits to star players and keeping the NBA and the public in the dark. While outright intent or cap circumvention is still not written outright in any key documents, the episode makes a strong case that the Clippers’ inner circle was, at the very least, "well aware" — and actively hid their tracks.

For Further Exploration

• YouTube: Pablo Torre Finds Out
• Instagram
• Newsletter
• [Podcast’s Previous Episodes: All parts of the Kawhi-Gate investigation]