NBA spokesman Mike Bass told him that the league "has known about the media reports about the Los Angeles Clippers and has initiated an investigation."

According to ESPN reporter Shams, NBA spokesman Mike Bass told him that the league "has known about the media reports about the Los Angeles Clippers and has initiated an investigation."

According to recent U.S. media reports, the Clippers and their boss Ballmer are accused of evading the NBA's salary cap regulations by paying Leonard $28 million in "named work".

In plain words, it is a Yin-Yang contract. The Clippers and Xiaoka negotiated to sign a contract below the maximum salary to avoid the salary cap, but they gave compensation through advertising signing in private, and both parties got benefits in one go.

Former ESPN contributor Pablo Torre revealed that the Clippers paid Leonard the money through a now-banked company under Ballmer. Torre also cites a large number of internal documents from Aspire, which Ballmer personally injected $50 million into the company on September 14, 2021. In 2022, Xiaoka signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement contract with Aspire through his personal company KL2 Aspire. Nine months ago, Leonard had signed a four-year, $176.3 million contract with the Clippers, which met the highest salary standards stipulated in the NBA's labor-management agreement at the time.

Xiaoka's next contract occurred in 2024, when the Clippers renewed the contract with Xiaoka again with a quasi-maximum salary of 153 million yuan, which may be the real doubt.

Torre claimed to have obtained the terms of the documents that if Leonard leaves the Clippers, the endorsement agreement between Aspire and Xiaoka will automatically expire. An anonymous employee who allegedly worked for Aspire revealed to Torre that the payment to Leonard was "to evade the salary cap."

The Clippers officially denied this and stated that the cooperation between the team and Aspire had ended as early as the 22-23 season. Before the government launched the investigation, neither the team nor Ballmer had any misconduct with Aspire.

According to cases in NBA history, once a yin-yang contract is discovered, you will face the risk of fines, draft picks, management bans, and even contract cancellation. For example, the Timberwolves in 2000 were fined five first rounds, fined $3.5 million, suspended from the head coach and vice president for one year, and contracts were directly cancelled.

Of course, the Clippers and Xiaoka are far from reaching this point. According to Shams' report, there must be conclusive evidence to prove that the parties involved have made improper payments, not just indirect evidence. The two recent contract renewals between Xiaoka and the Clippers, the first four-year, $174 million, is already the maximum salary contract, which is the limit stipulated in the labor-management agreement, and it is unlikely that there will be a yin and yang contract.

The second contract was $153 million for three years, which was just slightly lower than the maximum salary. However, considering Xiao Ka's serious injury risks at the time and the voluntary salary cut to retain George + Harden, this contract was even higher than the market price.

and then the Clippers did not urgently leave George behind. The 2-year 70 million yuan given to Harden was also the market price. The Clippers paid a luxury tax of $20.59 million last season, and did not avoid taxes.

As a comparison, the last Yin-Yang contract found was that Joe Smith rejected the Warriors' $86 million contract that year, and turned around to sign a three-year basic salary with the Timberwolves. Such low-level operations are something that everyone can see.

When the Clippers signed Xiaoka, they were investigated twice by the league, but the results were proven to be innocent.

The first time happened in December 2019, when Ka's uncle played an unusual role when he joined the Clippers as a libero, which attracted the league's investigation, but the penalty results were not disclosed in the end.

The second time happened in December 2020. Xiaoka's friend sued Jerry West, who claimed that he had promoted Xiaoka's signing, but he did not receive the Clippers' survival. This once again attracted the league's investigation, and the allegations were later verified that the allegations were not established.

So make a prediction, the Yin-Yang contract that was exposed this time is unlikely to be established, and the Clippers have no reason to avoid this little profit. Ballmer has never saved money that shouldn't have saved in recent years. The final investigation results of the alliance are likely to be left unresolved.