Kawhi Leonard Obtained Aspiration Cost Days After Clippers Minority Proprietor Funding

Los Angeles Clippers minority proprietor Dennis J. Wong made a virtually $2 million funding in Aspiration in December 2022 simply days earlier than the corporate paid Kawhi Leonard $1.75 million as required via his endorsement contract, in keeping with a brand new episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out. The cost was made on December fifteenth, which was the identical day the corporate laid off 20 p.c of its staff. 

“It’s past stunning, and I’ll inform you, I knew that the board (of administrators at Aspiration) had put (in) cash in December to make payroll and make hire… (so) it isn’t a rational funding that somebody (Wong) would make,” one in every of two nameless former Aspiration staff mentioned on the podcast. “So it is extremely stunning to me that $2 million was made as an funding by Dennis Wong, who in my texts is recognized as … Steve Ballmer’s accomplice per week earlier than $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi.”

“There’s a number of issues which might be conspicuous,” mentioned a second nameless former Aspiration official. “One, we’re broke. We’re broke. So to put money into a broke firm is past me. … After which the opposite factor is the quantity that’s being invested, that’s such a nominal quantity if we’re speaking pure funding, particularly in a late-stage startup that’s … already raised a yr earlier $300 million (sic), what does $2 million purchase you?”

Based on Torre, Wong made a a confidential inventory buy settlement from Aspiration dated Dec. 9, 2022, during which his restricted partnership DEA 88 Investments purchased 0.072 p.c of the environmental agency. 

“In all equity to Uncle Dennis (Robertson), he’s not the one one who’s calling making an attempt to receives a commission,” one of many former Aspiration staff mentioned on the podcast. “There’s an enormous freeze as a result of there’s no cash to be spent. So from the finance staff’s perspective, we really feel like we’re on the opposite finish of collections calls. Individuals are continuously coming in asking for his or her cash.

“Between these months when all of that is lacking – so September, October, November, and main as much as December, the precise certainty of the corporate even current is up for grabs. At that time, are we gonna receives a commission as staff? Why does Uncle Dennis maintain calling us? We have now such greater considerations that we’re occupied with, which is our personal salaries. Are we gonna must undergo layoffs? The place is the cash gonna come from?

“However lo and behold. Uncle Dennis will get paid.”

Adam Silver weighed in on the NBA’s investigation into potential wage cap circumvention dedicated by the Clippers and mentioned the “burden” is on the league to show the staff really dedicated wrongdoing to ensure that them to be punished.