The Mavericks' minority owner, Mark Cuban, reacted to the NBA's recent verdict in the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention controversy with the Clippers.
"Congrats, Pablo," wrote Cuban on X.
NBA fans took to social media and saw the billionaire businessman's two-word response. They flooded the comment section with criticism, calling Cuban out for backtracking on his comments about Pablo Torre, the investigative journalist who first reported the story.
"Not sure how you thought they were innocent. This smelled like rotting fish from the beginning."
"Man…you were so wrong in this one. Always side with the smarter people…Pablo is much smarter than Ballmer. And Pablo actually works for a living."

#pablo #smarter #kawhi #torre

The Los Angeles Clippers finally got an answer on the NBA's cap circumvention investigation, but it's not the one they were hoping for. Despite claiming innocence and complying with the league throughout the process, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver came down with strict penalties, including a $30 million fine, the loss of five draft picks, and suspensions for several Clippers executives.
Instead of accepting their losses, however, the Clippers plan to fight with everything they have. After making their initial statement today, they shared their official email to the Commissioner, in which they called him out on the way this investigation was conducted. According to the Clippers, they worked tirelessly to comply with the league office, committing millions of dollars and many hours to prove their innocence.
"Almost one year ago today, you announced that the league would be investigating podcast allegations that the Los Angeles Clippers engaged in salary cap circumvention by funneling money to Kawhi Leonard through a 'no-show' contract with a Clippers sponsor, Aspiration. In announcing that investigation, you represented that 'due process' and 'a fundamental sense of fairness' would govern the process. You made clear that the 'burden [would be] on the league' to prove any violation through actual evidence, not 'mere appearances.' And you concluded by promising that everyone involved in the investigation would be treated 'the same way I would want to be treated if people were making allegations against me.'"
"Unfortunately, none of those promises have been kept. In the last year, Steve Ballmer has spent nearly $50 million funding an investigation by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz that has stretched far beyond the bounds of what the league set out to investigate, let alone the bounds of 'fundamental fairness.' The Clippers have produced more than 30,000 documents and provided more than 20 witnesses who have sat for 30 interviews."
"Third parties, including Clippers business partners and sponsors, have likewise provided documents, interviews, and statements to investigators. Mr. Ballmer has reimbursed the costs of at least six law firms, many of which were hired at the demand of the league's lawyers. To say the investigation has been a distraction would be an understatement—Clippers employees have spent thousands of hours scouring document repositories, phones, messaging systems, central files, and accounting records, working with counsel, and sitting for interviews. This investigation has permanently strained relationships with key Clippers stakeholders."

#angeles #commissioner #circumvention #innocence

What NBA's Kawhi Leonard-Clippers Punishment Means for Celtics' 2028 Pick originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The NBA did not let the LA Clippers off lightly.
After a nearly year-long investigation, ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that the NBA has stripped the Clippers of five first-round picks as part of the franchise's punishment for violating salary cap circumvention rules related to the 2019 signing of Kawhi Leonard.
The announcement impacts a number of teams, including the Boston Celtics, who control one of LA's future first-round draft picks.
MORE: Is Kevin Durant Going to the Celtics? Debunking Viral Trade Rumor

#celtics #picks #means

The long-awaited results of the NBA's investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers' alleged salary cap circumvention practices were finally released on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the fallout is just beginning.
Among the punishments handed out, the Clippers must forfeit five first-round draft picks and pay a $30 million fine. Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers' superstar at the heart of the scandal, has been fined $700,000. Additionally, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker have been suspended by the league for one year. Lawrence Frank, the team's president of basketball operations, has been suspended for six months.
The official investigation report from the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz explicitly lays out why the organization is facing the brunt of the penalties. Throughout the 36-page document, investigators state the three individuals most responsible for the Clippers' rule-breaking are Ballmer, Zucker and Frank, and call out the organization for obfuscating the investigation's efforts.
The report also notes investigators "continue to receive information relevant to the subjects discussed in this report" and will supplement their findings as appropriate. Wachtell Lipton said it conducted 73 interviews of 60 people and reviewed 200,000 pages of documents.
Here are 13 must-read segments from the investigation. Each is quoted directly from the report.

#clippers #report #lipton #president

Mike Vorkunov: Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg threatened to blow up deal when it wasn't yet finalized. He threatened Clippers execs. Ballmer signed off in April 2022, same month Leonard's deal was executed. NBA report said that the explicit link between violates NBA circumvention rules.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: He threatened Clippers execs. Ballmer signed off in …

#threatened

The NBA has stripped the Los Angeles Clippers of five first-round draft picks and fined owner Steve Ballmer $30 million at the conclusion of its probe into alleged salary cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard.
The league is also fining Leonard $700,000.
The NBA announced the decision Wednesday.
The decision comes months after journalist Pablo Torre unveiled the possible violation during an episode of his podcast, "Pablo Torre Finds Out." During the program, Torre revealed an agreement between Leonard and a now-bankrupt company called Aspiration, in which Ballmer was heavily invested. The agreement paid Leonard $28 million to essentially do nothing. Ballmer was accused of using the $28 million deal as a way to circumvent the NBA salary cap and give Leonard more money to sign with the franchise.
On the day the story originally broke, the Clippers and Ballmer denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement denying the allegations made by Torre.

#ballmer #salary

LeBron James is the latest NBA player to have his finances come under scrutiny following a new report from Bloomberg that was published on Tuesday. According to the story's headline, "LeBron James Borrowed $300 Million From Insurers Arranged by Guggenheim."
Guggenheim is the financial services firm run by Mark Walter, the guy who owned the Los Angeles Lakers for about a year. He recently sold the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger. The Dodgers might be next. You're probably familiar with all that.
MORE: LeBron James leaving Los Angeles looks even better now
If you are familiar with all that, the headline sounds pretty juicy. However, if you actually reading the article it sounds more like LeBron James was doing some basic rich guy stuff. So anyone expecting a year-long investigation into the Lakers committing cap circumvention is going to be disappointed. The story doesn't seem to have anything to do with LeBron choosing or re-signing with the Lakers. Via Bloomberg:
"James' borrowing from the two Midwestern insurers — structured as sales of ***** et-backed bonds — began when he was at the Cleveland Cavaliers and his career was poised for new heights."

#Lakers #insurers #year

Podcaster Pablo Torre had a frank reaction to ESPN's claim that the NBA has found no evidence of cap circumvention between the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.
Torre's reporting in September 2025 brought the potential cap circumvention between the Clippers and Leonard to light. It launched an NBA investigation that is now nearly a year old.
ESPN revealed that the NBA has found no wrongdoing on the Clippers' and Ballmer's end while recognising the existence of the side sponsorships for Leonard, which had been revealed by Torre.
Torre made a post on X discussing ESPN's report, laying out that the NBA cannot directly link the sponsorships to the Clippers and is instead evaluating their mistakes as a 'failure to supervise,' while also criticising Clippers owner Steve Ballmer's involvement in punishment decisions.
"The subject of the investigation does not get to negotiate with the group that is doing the investigation. But in this case, Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in American sports, has been negotiating a resolution behind the scenes, according to ESPN."

#torre #found

With all the doom and gloom about the future of the stalled Kawhi Leonard trade back to the Toronto Raptors, a scenario has been presented that would see the Raps actually benefiting from the whole kerfuffle.
The June 30 blockbuster deal that was supposed to send Kawhi back to the team with which he won his last NBA championship is on hold. Both the Raptors and the LA Clippers are awaiting the results of the long, drawn-out investigation into the alleged cap circumvention scandal surrounding the Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard.
There have been all sorts of scenarios floated that could put the kibosh on Kawhi's return to Toronto. A full-year suspension or having his contract voided are the two leading narratives that naysayers have referred to. However, local beat writer Michael Grange of Sportsnet says that all the clues suggest that Kawhi will wind up with the Raptors when all is said and done. And even more than that, he lays out a scenario where a certain line of severe punishment handed out by the NBA could actually benefit Toronto in the long run.
But first, hear him out as he tries to put Toronto fans at ease about any potential suspension of Kawhi for a huge chunk of the 2026-27 season:
The… commonly cited risk — that Leonard will face a lengthy suspension for his role in the alleged cap circumvention — is something that almost certainly won't come to pass, a matter than has been under-reported or not reported previously.

#toronto #leonard #raptors #long

Pablo Torre reported on yet another potential salary cap circumvention move by Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. Stephen A. Smith thinks that if it's real, the NBA should be ruthless.
Kawhi Leonard was supposed to be back with the Toronto Raptors by now. The only thing that's stopped him is the ongoing NBA investigation into his time with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pablo Torre reported in 2025 that Leonard and the franchise had tried to circumvent the league's salary cap. The claim is that they did so by getting him bogus sponsorship money through Aspiration.
Torre added to that this week, with a report suggesting that this same thing had also happened with another team sponsor, Daktronics. It's no surprise that the NBA world is starting to lose its patience.
Photo by Tanner Pearson/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images

#torre

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Toronto Raptors trade for Kawhi Leonard remains in limbo.
Leonard's seven-year tenure with the Clippers appeared to be over after he was traded to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, June 30.
The Raptors were going to send forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey ****** , two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033), two second-round picks (2030, 2033) and a 2027 first-round swap to Los Angeles.
Instead, both teams have put a halt to the trade, citing an ongoing investigation.
Leonard, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, and Leonard's uncle/advisor Dennis Robertson are being investigated for their alleged involvement in a "no-show" agreement with a company, Aspiration, to funnel extra compensation to Leonard as part of a salary cap circumvention.

#raptors #leonard #toronto #picks

Pablo Torre is back this week with yet another episode documenting alleged salary cap circumvention by the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and star forward Kawhi Leonard, the 13th installment of a series that has now stretched nearly a year.
Yet the NBA's investigation appears no closer to being finished than it was last September when it was announced, after a separate report from ESPN this week suggested it could stretch into 2027.
As questions once again intensify around the probe by the NBA's hand-selected law firm and a trade that would have sent Leonard to Toronto remains on pause, Torre challenged the league and commissioner Adam Silver directly in a Thursday appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show.
Torre echoed Le Batard's recent comments claiming the NBA is afraid that Ballmer could undermine the legitimacy of the league office and the collective bargaining agreement with legal challenges.
"What the league is worried about is Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in American sports, fighting in a way that other owners would not have the resources or the inclination to fight," he said.

#league

The LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard are currently under investigation over a possible circumvention of the salary cap rules.
Since the scandal broke last year, the NBA has been conducting an independent investigation into the LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard over allegations of salary cap circumvention.
However, even though this investigation is still ongoing, both the LA Clippers and the NBPA (National Basketball Players ****** ociation) have plans to escalate the matter further.
Photo by Tanner Pearson/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images
According to a report by Baxter Holmes of ESPN, sources close to the LA Clippers and the NBPA are going to be keeping an eye on the investigation into Kawhi Leonard.

#clippers #leonard #investigation #however

The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors remain at a standstill regarding the proposed trade that would bring Kawhi Leonard back to Canada.
Leonard’s seven-year tenure with the Clippers ended after he was traded to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, June 30, for forward Brandon Ingram, guard Gradey ******* , two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033), two second-round picks (2030, 2033) and a 2027 first-round swap.
Both teams have since put a halt to the trade, citing the ongoing investigation surrounding Leonard, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, and Leonard's uncle/advisor Dennis Robertson. All three men were allegedly involved in a “no-show” agreement with a company, Aspiration, to funnel extra compensation to the player as part of a salary cap circumvention.
There’s a belief that both sides are still willing to go through with the deal with the ******* umption that there will be limited consequences for the parties involved.
"My timeline remains this summer," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said when talking to reporters on Thursday, July 14. "... I'm not conducting the investigation … as I've said previously, we all have an interest in wrapping this up, and I most recently said in an interview that I am hopeful it will wrap up this summer and that will continue to be the goal here."

One of the biggest NBA rumors is that the Los Angeles Clippers could potentially trade Kawhi Leonard, but could this transaction get complicated?
Leonard, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, has played for the Clippers since 2019. He is entering the final year of his current deal with the franchise, however, which means he could become a free agent at the end of the upcoming season.
Rather than Leonard potentially leaving Los Angeles for no value should he choose to walk, the Clippers front office could consider receiving value back in return for the seven-time NBA All-Star. One rumored destination is the Toronto Raptors, and the two teams are seriously engaged in trade talks, because he would reportedly sign a long-term extension there.
Some are wondering if his trade value get impacted by the NBA's ongoing investigation into Leonard following an alleged cap circumvention scandal. Perhaps the Clippers, or even Leonard, eventually get punished following the probe. Here is more Marc Stein and Jake Fischer (via The Stein Line):
"We have yet to hear any suggestion that a potential Leonard trade would be held up by the league office because the NBA-commissioned external investigation into allegations of salary cap circumvention by the Clippers with respect to Leonard and the franchise's partnership with its former sponsor Aspiration is not yet complete."