NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters Wednesday that he hopes the investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers for potential salary-cap circumvention will conclude soon.
"The investigation has been conducted by a law firm independent of the NBA," Silver said at a press conference before Game 1 of the Finals, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps.
"Yes, ultimately, we're paying their bills, but they are doing the work independent of the league office, and my instruction to them is we can't be investigating forever, but at some point, we have to wrap it up. But at the same time, the most important thing is that we get it right.
The law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz launched the investigation in September into whether the Clippers and their owner, Steve Ballmer, bypassed the NBA salary cap by funneling money to star Kawhi Leonard through a $28-million endorsement deal with the environmental company Aspiration.
"I think it's clear they're far along. I think those reports are reading all the time from people who are being interviewed by them, and I think they understand that you can keep going on and on," Silver said.
"But I think we're close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up because you also need finality. Their team has to understand what the situation is they're going to be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams."
The "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast won a Pulitzer Prize in May for its reporting that revealed the Clippers' alleged salary-cap circumvention.
Earlier this week, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. The company has also gone bankrupt.
Ballmer reportedly invested around $60 million into Aspiration while the company was still active. He and Leonard have denied any wrongdoing. Leonard ultimately re-signed on a four-year, $176.3-million contract in 2022 after opting out of the final year of his player option with the team.
Leonard averaged 27.9 points per contest across 65 regular-season games during the 2025-26 campaign. He's under contract for next year and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
