According to Mark Cuban, Steve Ballmer began negotiating with Aspiration in August 2021, the merger agreement was signed on August 16, 2021, and the deal closed and funded on September 14, 2021 with escrow established, providing the baseline timeline for fund flows and disclosures. Source: Mark Cuban on X. Cuban adds that ESPN reported Ballmer said Aspiration asked him to introduce the firm to Kawhi Leonard and that the first introduction email was in early November 2021, which places the initial contact after multiple escrow events. Source: ESPN. Cuban states, citing the SEC S-4, that Aspiration took escrow funds before the Kawhi introduction, with subsequent closings dated October 15, October 28, November 2, November 12, and November 16, 2021, indicating withdrawals prior to the early November introduction. Source: SEC S-4 via Mark Cuban on X. Cuban asserts there was no CBA violation, clarifying compliance context for team and player-related considerations. Source: Mark Cuban on X. The SEC S-4 discloses that subsequent to September 30, 2021, Aspiration paid RJB Partners 10,013,455 dollars for consulting services, identifying a material cash outflow tied to the transaction period. Source: SEC S-4. Cuban notes that InterPrivate III was expected to contribute approximately 285 million dollars and that timelines were communicated as year-end 2021 then end of Q1 2022, framing capital expectations around the SPAC process. Source: Mark Cuban on X. Cuban also claims KPMG resigned and refused to approve the audit, underscoring audit risk that traders typically price as elevated governance uncertainty. Source: Mark Cuban on X. Taken together, the SEC filing details and ESPN reporting outline escrow usage timing, consulting payouts, and auditor issues that are relevant to risk assessment in SPAC and fintech trades and can influence broader risk sentiment across high-beta sectors including crypto. Source: SEC S-4, ESPN, Mark Cuban on X.