[外絮] 目前Kawhi/快艇/Aspiration完整時間線

https://reurl.cc/XQ3m43

Timeline of Kawhi Leonard, Clippers and Steve Ballmer events that led to NBA
investigation

Kawhi Leonard, 快艇與Steve Ballmer引發NBA調查事件群的時間線

原文就不全翻了 有些是當時的公關稿 不重要

July 2019
After leading the Toronto Raptors to an NBA Finals victory over the Golden
State Warriors, Leonard declined his player option and became an unrestrictedfree agent. He left the Raptors after one season and joined the Clippers on athree-year, $103 million deal. The contract had a player option for the 2021
offseason.

2019年7月

在暴龍贏過金州勇士拿下總冠軍後，Leonard拒絕了球員選項並成為UFA。他在暴龍待了一季之後以3年103M的合約加入快艇且2021年休賽季有一個球員選項。

December 2019
The NBA conducted a formal investigation into the Clippers regarding the
conduct of Dennis Robertson, Leonard’s uncle and primary advisor, while
Leonard was an unrestricted free agent in 2019. Complaints were made about
Robertson asking for improper benefits as part of Leonard’s services.

While this investigation concluded with no punishments for the team, The
Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote at the time that NBA commissioner Adam Silver “
sees salary-cap circumvention as a cardinal sin in the NBA” and that “if
any relevant evidence of improper benefits surfaces in the future, the leaguewill re-open the investigation and pursue the charges yet again.”

2019年12月

NBA因Kawhi Leonard的舅舅同時也是最主要顧問Dennis Robertson的行為對快艇展開正式調查。投訴內容是關於Robertson在Leonard的服務中要求不當的好處。

雖然調查結果並沒有對球隊作出懲罰，Silver對Amick表示他視逃過NBA薪資上限為NBA的大罪且如果未來有不當利益的相關證據聯盟會重啟這個調查並再次尋求處罰。

September 2021
The Clippers broke ground on Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., the $2 billionarena that opened for the 2024-25 NBA season. Later that month, the Clippers
held media day at their practice facility in Playa Vista and announced a new
partnership with Aspiration, a company co-founded in 2013 by Andrei Cherny
and Joseph Sanberg. The agreement between the Clippers and Aspiration was
valued at more than $300 million and was set to go through 2043.

Before players met with the media, Ballmer sat down with Sanberg to address
the media. Sanberg spoke as if he would be a key partner with the Clippers
for the foreseeable future.

“We’re so proud to be partnered with the Clippers and Steve Ballmer in
making sure that, as we defeat the climate crisis, Inglewood and the
communities that surround Inglewood are at the front of our fight,” Sanberg
said. “So you’re going to be hearing a lot from us in the coming years
about how we’re partnered to make sure that Inglewood is thriving and one of
the first communities to exit some of the despair that’s happened because of
the climate crisis.”

When Leonard addressed the press later that month, it was the first time he
was made available since injuring his right knee in the 2021 Western
Conference semifinals three months earlier. In July of that year, Leonard
underwent knee surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Leonard declined the player option for the 2021-22 season to become an
unrestricted free agent again. While the thought was that Leonard would sign
a one-plus-one deal with the Clippers, Leonard instead chose a four-year dealwith a player option in 2024, lining up with the extension that co-star Paul
George signed eight months prior.

In what ultimately was Leonard’s only meeting with assembled media between
his June 2021 injury and his return to play in September 2022 (Leonard missedthe entire 2021-22 season), Leonard went on to explain why he took a
team-friendly deal as opposed to a contract that could maximize his earnings
in the 2022 offseason.

“Because I wanted to play,” Leonard said. “I mean, the best situation to
me was to do it one-and-one and then opt out and sign a long-term five-year
deal, but there’s a lot of concerns that that brings up for you guys and
your job and it creates storylines that I’m going to leave the team. One
thing, I wanted to secure some money, and I wanted to be able to come back ifI was able to this year. If I would have took the one-and-one, I probably
would have not played just to be cautious and opted out and took a five-year.I’m here. I’m here to be a Clipper.”

2021年9月

快艇蓋了新球場也揭幕了新的訓練設施，同月底也宣布了與Aspiration的合作關係。這家公司於2013年(比想像中還早)由Andrei Cherny與Joseph Sanberg(這個是被抓那個)所創立。他們與快艇的合作關係價值超過300M且會延續到2043年。(這也是為甚麼債權人第一個列快艇，因為欠最多)

(合作當時公關細節不重要)

在同一季，Kawhi Leonard因為ACL傷勢而賽季報銷。Kawhi Leonard拒絕了球員選項並重簽。雖然不少人預期他會簽一紙1+1的合約(因為湊滿年資薪資才能最大化)，他卻簽下了對球隊有利的4年合約並與Paul George的合約對齊。

2022年4月

Leonard agreed to a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration under his
company filed as KL2 Aspire, LLC, which was filed four months prior. The
arrangement allowed Leonard to be paid four times a year through March 2026.

Leonard與Aspiration以他公司KL2 Aspire LLC的名義簽下28M的贊助合約，4個月後歸檔。而他直到2026年3月一年將會領4次錢。

June 2022
It is worth noting that at the time of the Aspiration agreement, Leonard had
not been active on Twitter (now known as X) since 2015. He would not start
using his current verified Instagram account until the following October.

The Clippers used Aspiration in 44 tweets, starting in November 2021 on
rookie Brandon Boston Jr.’s birthday. Here is the first LA Clippers tweet
that referenced both Aspiration and Leonard (on Leonard’s birthday):

https://x.com/LAClippers/status/1542176330745204736

2022年6月
在他與Aspiration簽約的當下，Leonard自2015年以後就沒有活躍的推特(X)帳戶。他直到這年的10月才有他現在認證的Instagram帳戶。

快艇在44則推文中使用了Aspiration，第一則是2021年11月菜鳥Brandon Boston Jr.的生日貼文。而這邊是Aspiration與Leonard第一次同時被提到的貼文(Leonard生日文)。

June 2023
The Clippers say that their partnership with Aspiration ended after the
2022-23 NBA season. The final tweet from the Clippers with Aspiration tagged
turned out to be on Leonard’s birthday, again:

https://x.com/LAClippers/status/1674472019222745088

快艇聲明說他們與Aspiration的合作在22-23年球季結束後結束。而快艇有標註Aspiration的最後一則貼文也是Kawhi Leonard的生日文。

January 2024
An eventful month for the Clippers franchise began with Leonard signing a
$153 million contract extension through 2027, with no player options. It was
Leonard’s first contract since the NBA agreed to a new collective bargaining
agreement that went into effect the previous June.

Later that month, the NBA announced that the Clippers would host 2026
All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome, even though the arena wasn’t open yet. It
was around this time that the Clippers acknowledged to the LA Times that “
the sponsorship agreement entered into between Aspiration and the L.A.
Clippers was terminated by the team last season. This in no way relieves
Aspiration from the obligations they are under contract to provide.” That
meant that Aspiration was still on the hook for the rest of the money owed tothe Clippers through 2043.

2024年1月

快艇與Leonard簽下直到2027年153M的續約並沒有附帶球員選項。這是Leonard在新的勞資協議後所簽下的第一張合約。

一個月後NBA宣布快艇主場將會舉辦2026年明星賽，快艇也同時對洛杉磯時報承認他們與Aspiration的合作關係上一季已經結束。然而Aspiration並未從合約的義務中脫離。這也代表Aspiration仍必須支付他們欠快艇的錢直到2043年。

March 2025
Sanberg, Aspiration’s co-founder, was arrested on March 3 for conspiring to
defraud an investment fund of at least $145 million, per the U.S. Department
of Justice. By the end of March, Aspiration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
According to the agreement between Aspiration and KL2 Aspire, LLC, Leonard
was still owed $7 million from the original $28 million arrangement.

Sanberg pleaded guilty to fraud in August 2025, while the U.S. Securities andExchange Commission charged Sanberg with “raising more than $300 million
from investors based on a fraudulent scheme to generate and mislead investorsabout fake revenues for environmental sustainability services.” The
investigation by the SEC is still active.

Aspiration的共同創辦人之一Sandberg於3月3日被捕，他被指控詐欺了至少145M的投資。在3月底，Aspiration宣布第11章破產重組(所以技術上來說 這家公司還沒倒)。而根據
Aspiration與KL2 Aspire LLC的合約，Aspiration還欠28M款項中的7M。

Sandberg在2025年8月達成詐欺的認罪協議，但美國證券交易委員會指控Sandbert"從投資人那邊用詐欺性的規劃來產生關於他們環境業務虛假的營收並誤導投資人獲得了超過300M。"這項調查仍在持續。

September 2025
Before the release of Torre’s episode, the Clippers denied that the team “
circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to
Aspiration.”

In a statement provided to the podcast, the Clippers said, “Neither Mr.
Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any
misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.
The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers
nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its
co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation. The team
and Mr. Ballmer stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way they can.”

After the Pablo Torre Finds Out episode was released, the NBA said through a
league spokesman that a new investigation of the Clippers will commence. The
Clippers provided another statement to the media after the league statement:

“Neither the Clippers nor Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap. The
notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi
Leonard is absurd. Steve invested because Aspiration’s co-founders presented
themselves as committed to doing right by their customers while protecting
the environment.

After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve
but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for
bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243million fraud. Neither Steve nor the Clippers had knowledge of any improper
activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government initiatedits investigation. Aspiration was a team sponsor for the 2021- 2022 and 2022-2023 seasons before defaulting on its contract.

There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement
deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers
organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement
with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.

The Clippers take NBA compliance extremely seriously, fully respect the league’s rules, and welcome its investigation related to Aspiration. The Clippers
will also continue to cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation
into Aspiration’s blatantly fraudulent activity.”

2025年9月

在Torre的那集Podcast出來之前，快艇便已經向他發出聲明否認規避薪資上限或涉及任何與Aspiration相關的不當行為。

(聲明原文 略)

在Pablo Torre Finds Out節目釋出後，NBA透過聯盟發言人表示將對快艇展開新的調查。快艇之後向媒體提供另一份聲明：

"無論是快艇還是Steve Ballmer都沒有規避薪資上限。所謂Steve投資Aspiration是為了將資金輸送給Kawhi Leonard的說法完全荒謬。Steve投資的原因是Aspiration的共同創辦人向他展示自己致力於善待顧客並保護環境。

經過一場長期的市場操縱運動後，Aspiration不僅欺騙了Steve，也欺騙了其他眾多投資人和運動隊伍，最終宣告破產。其共同創辦人Joseph Sanberg近期承認犯下243M的詐欺罪。在政府展開調查之前，無論是Steve還是快艇，都不知道Aspiration或其共同創辦人有任何不當行為。Aspiration在2021-22與2022-23賽季期間曾是球隊贊助商，但之後違約。

球隊贊助商與同隊球員簽訂代言合約並不罕見或不當。無論是Steve還是快艇，都沒有對Kawhi與Aspiration的獨立代言協議進行監督。說法相反的說辭完全錯誤。

快艇對NBA規範的遵守極為嚴肅，完全尊重聯盟規則，並歡迎針對Aspiration的調查。快艇也會繼續配合執法部門調查Aspiration的赤裸裸詐欺行為。"

反正目前就是 這樣
我自己找快艇跟Aspiration合作的部分跟記者查得差不多(畢竟公關稿都還在)
其他部分就BSJ那邊爆了一個新瓜 Gambo炒冷飯炒暴龍的事情(15M)

另外，這也不是快艇第一次有相關的事情 2015年Ballmer剛當老闆的時候就曾經替DeAndreJordan仲介了一筆Lexus價值200K的代言合約，當時聯盟罰了快艇250K。

(也就是Deandre Jordan原本要跟獨行俠續約結果被Chris Paul關在家裡那次)

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