The Kawhi Leonard saga just took an even stranger turn. As the NBA’s investigation into his relationship with the now-collapsed environmental company Aspiration drags into its eleventh month, new reporting from The Athletic reveals a genuinely bizarre chapter — one involving Marvel’s Groot, a scrapped marketing campaign, and a growing sense that this scandal is far from resolved.
A Marketing Concept That Never Saw the Light of Day
According to multiple former Aspiration employees who spoke to The Athletic, the company actively discussed featuring Leonard in a marketing campaign after signing him to a reported $20 million endorsement deal. The concept that emerged was almost too strange to believe: mockups depicting Leonard as a tree-like offshoot of Marvel’s Groot, tying his image directly to Aspiration’s pledge to plant trees offsetting customers’ carbon footprints.
The creative team reportedly spent weeks trying to make the concept work, brainstorming alternatives when the Groot angle didn’t land. Eventually, though, the whole idea was shut down. One former employee recalled being told to stop thinking about Kawhi entirely, describing the campaign as a dead end.
Why This Matters for the Investigation
This detail matters far more than it might initially seem. The fact that Aspiration went to genuine lengths to try incorporating Leonard into their marketing — only to scrap it entirely — raises fresh questions about the nature of his endorsement deal in the first place. Leonard was reportedly due to be paid $28 million by Aspiration, yet he never appeared in any public advertising, made any appearances for the company, or promoted it on social media, fueling long-standing suspicions that this was a “no-show” endorsement designed to funnel money outside the confines of his NBA contract.
An Investigation That Keeps Growing
This isn’t the only new wrinkle either. The Athletic also reports that the NBA’s investigation, led by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, has expanded to examine whether the Clippers covered expenses on Leonard’s behalf without proper reimbursement, and whether Leonard held a previously undisclosed endorsement deal with a second, separate company. Neither the nature of those expenses nor the identity of the second company have been revealed.
The Clippers Continue to Deny Wrongdoing
Throughout it all, the Clippers have maintained their innocence, releasing a statement insisting they did not funnel money to Leonard through Aspiration and describing themselves as victims of a fraud orchestrated by Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg — who has since been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for wire fraud. The organization has stressed its full cooperation with the league’s investigation, citing dozens of interviews and tens of thousands of documents provided over the past ten months.
What’s at Stake for Leonard
The uncertainty has already had real consequences. Toronto’s blockbuster trade to reacquire Leonard remains frozen after the league informed the Raptors they would inherit the risk of any discipline handed down against him. Speaking on the situation, NBA insider Shams Charania laid out the worst-case scenario bluntly, suggesting the ultimate outcome could range anywhere from Leonard’s contract being voided to a suspension spanning a significant chunk of games — or even an entire season — depending entirely on what the investigation ultimately uncovers.
When Will We Get Answers?
Commissioner Adam Silver has publicly stated the situation needs to be resolved before next season begins, but with the probe continuing to widen rather than narrow, patience remains the order of the day. For now, Leonard, the Clippers, and the Raptors are all left waiting on a resolution that shows no signs of arriving quickly — and with each new revelation, the stakes only seem to climb higher.
