Steve Ballmer met with Wachtell lawyers last week as its investigation into Aspiration reaches its final stages. Ballmer had previously sat for an interview with the lawyers conducting the NBA's investigation into the matter.

Ballmer, who invested $60 million in Aspiration, has denied he had knowledge of Kawhi Leonard's endorsement deal with the company central to the inquiry.

A trade sending Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Toronto Raptors is on hold until the findings and any possible punishments to Leonard are reached.

The Raptors said in a statement that they "remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto" but will wait until the investigation is over to proceed.

Leonard could have his contract voided or be fined up to $350,000 depending on the findings.

"The league did not pause the trade," Adam Silver said Tuesday. "The parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward given that the investigation remained open. Any possible impact on Kawhi or his contract was yet to be known. They chose not to live with that uncertainty. That was well known before the trade was proposed.

"I don't think there's any reason for people to believe that the status of Kawhi Leonard would change merely because he was traded."

A source tells ESPN that the NBA didn't communicate with the Clippers in advance because guidance from the league office was never requested.

"Questions were asked [by teams interested in acquiring Leonard] and answered quickly by the league office," Silver said. "I don't think any of this information should have been a surprise to anyone involved who thought about trading for him or were part of those discussions."

The NBA had a similar situation ahead of the trade deadline with whether teams would be allowed to trade for Terry Rozier pending his federal arrest on a gambling probe.