Earlier this month, Pablo Torre shared a bombshell report on his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out, outlining intriguing circumstantial evidence pointing to the potential that the Los Angeles Clippers may have committed salary cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard. The original reporting brought to light a no-show endorsement for Leonard for $28 million, paid by a company called Aspiration that has since gone bankrupt.
From there, additional details began to come to light, including a Boston Sports Journal report that the endorsement was actually worth nearly $50 million. Torre also spoke extensively with Mark Cuban, who still owns a substantial portion of the Dallas Mavericks, and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer flew to Bristol, Connecticut to sit down with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and deny the allegations.
At the very least, it seemed clear that a larger investigation was coming from the NBA, but information continues to emerge from Torre's podcast and NBA commissioner Adam Silver may have fanned the flames in a difficult direction during a Board of Governors press conference on Wednesday. Hours after Silver's public-facing comments, Torre released another bombshell report from his podcast that linked a nearly $2 million investment in Aspiration from Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong that may have led to a $1.75 million payment to Leonard.
The episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out dives into great detail on these transactions and the record keeping involved, including multiple sources and former Aspiration employees. At the very least, this reporting will add plenty of fuel to the fire of an already explosive story, and it is yet another link that could put pressure on the NBA's investigation.
The details are damning, but Adam Silver is being unusually cautious
However, Commissioner Adam Silver pointed to the league as the side with the "burden" to prove wrongdoing in a case like what is being investigated with the Clippers.
“The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league,” Silver said, via ESPN's Tim Bontemps. “I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges.”
Silver also mentioned that "as a matter of fundamental fairness, (he) would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety." In some ways, that is a logical tact for Silver to take in this public forum, though the NBA constitution does point to the ability to act even on circumstantial evidence. In addition, Silver said Wednesday that he personally has "very broad powers in these situations" while also later pointing to the "need to now let the investigation run its course."
It is possible Torre or other journalists will be able to uncover even more on this situation as the NBA's private investigation continues. Still, there is already rampant speculation on what the punishment for the Clippers, Ballmer, and/or Leonard could be, and this latest rash of information will not slow that firehose.
The NBA has hired a prestigious law firm -- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz -- to handle the investigation, but as of now, there is no definitive timeline on when it might conclude.