Clippers president Lawrence Frank speaks on ‘serious’ Kawhi Leonard salary allegations, calls owner Steve Ballmer ‘honorable’

With media day for the Los Angeles Clippers taking place on Monday, there was only one thing to talk about: the allegations of salary cap circumvention with star forward Kawhi Leonard.

The NBA opened an investigation into the Clippers amid allegations that the team and owner Steve Ballmer got around cap restrictions via a nonprofit. Journalist Pablo Torre reported earlier this month that Leonard signed a $28 million contract with tree-planting nonprofit Aspiration for a “no-show” job, which Torre alleges was funded by Ballmer and the Clippers.

Ballmer has said that he was “defrauded” by Aspiration, which has since gone bankrupt. But Torre dropped another report on Monday, just before media day, alleging that Ballmer continued to donate to the organization well after the nonprofit starting showing red flags.

On Monday, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank addressed the allegations in a lengthy opening statement, saying that he and the organization “welcome” the NBA's investigation and praising Ballmer as “honorable.” But Frank said that the ongoing investigation mean that he could not freely answer questions.

“We are glad there is an investigation. We welcome it. We appreciate that there'll be a clear eye to look at these allegations, and we're eager for the truth to come out. The assumptions and conclusions that have been made are disappointing and upsetting. And we expect the investigation will show these allegations are wrong,” Frank said, via The Washington Post's Ben Golliver.

Frank added that Ballmer was a rule-follower, while emphasizing the fraudulent nature of the nonprofit:

“I'm hurt for Steve. He's one of the best people and most honorable people I've ever met. He does things the right way for the right reasons. And he constantly reminds us to stay on the right side of the rules. I’m also hurt for our players, our staff and fans, and on a larger level, as I’ve learned more about this over the past month, I feel bad for all the people who were defrauded by this individual. Let’s not forget, this was a case of widespread fraud, and there were a lot of different victims,” Frank said.

Next was a proclamation of the salary cap's restrictions.

“The salary cap governs everything we do,” Frank said. “Our mission every day is to build the best team we can under the constraints of the cap. There is no gray area. There are no secret shortcuts. It's clear what we are and are not allowed to do.”

Lastly, Frank said that while the allegations were “serious,” they didn't match his “reality.”

“The accusations made against us are serious,” Frank concluded. “And they don’t line up with my experience, my reality. We will cooperate with this investigation and let this process play out. But we are eager for the whole truth, the whole picture, to be revealed. We’re very confident in what it will show.”

This story will be updated.