Clippers in More Trouble as New Investigation Emerges From Kawhi Leonard Controversy, Per Reports

Kawhi Leonard still does not have a finished trade to Toronto. The NBA is still investigating whether Clippers-linked sponsorships were a way around the salary cap. On Wednesday, the story took a different turn.

Daktronics, the company that built the Intuit Dome’s Halo Board, told investors the Securities and Exchange Commission asked about the company and Leonard.

Pablo Torre reported the break off the firm’s earnings call.

“The SEC has opened an investigation into Daktronics concerning Kawhi Leonard,” he wrote, “according to the scoreboard-maker’s CFO.”

That inquiry sits on top of NBA requests for information related to the Clippers. The CFO’s language on the call was cautious and public. “The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking information from us concerning the company and [Kawhi] Leonard. We take these requests seriously and are cooperating.”

Daktronics sells scoreboards and video systems to arenas. Leonard as a paid spokesperson was always the odd piece. Torre’s August reporting described a multimillion-dollar deal that was never announced, left no public marketing trail, and was discussed inside the Intuit Dome project as a way to move money.

A crisis-firm spokesman at the time would only say Daktronics did not have a deal with Leonard “right now” and cited the Wachtell investigation. An SEC request now turns that private contract fight into a disclosure fight.

The investigation, now more than 11 months old, centers on and around a $28 million Aspiration endorsement deal described as a possible no-show arrangement tied to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Additional reports revealed a separate deal with Daktronics, the company behind Intuit Dome’s video board.

Commissioner Adam Silver said he wants the probe wrapped before the 2026–27 season. The NBA hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Toronto paused the Ingram-and-picks package after the league said the Raptors would inherit penalty risk. ESPN later reported no evidence that Ballmer funneled money through sponsors.

Pablo Torre released internal Clippers marketing emails, complicating the organization’s defense in a nearly year-long salary-cap investigation. It showed that the staff allegedly coordinated promotional appearances for Kawhi Leonard tied to a previously undisclosed Daktronics sponsorship.

The NBA found no evidence that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Leonard to circumvent the salary cap. ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne cited three people with knowledge of discussions between the league and the team.

The NBA called that story inaccurate in significant ways. The Clippers say they did not compensate Leonard outside his contract.

SEC Inquiry Into Daktronics Puts Kawhi Leonard’s Scoreboard Deal Next to the NBA’s Clippers Probe

A league investigation can fine a team, take picks, or freeze a trade. An SEC inquiry asks a public company what it told shareholders and how it booked a celebrity contract.

The Clippers now have two sponsor names in the same storm. Aspiration is the original. Daktronics is the scoreboard. Leonard is the player in both. The Raptors are still waiting. Training camp is close.

The federal request does not decide cap circumvention. It does decide that the story is no longer only Adam Silver’s problem.