Pablo Torre: ‘Very real chance’ Steve Ballmer comes out ‘relatively unscathed’ from Kawhi Leonard scandal
· Yahoo Sports
The latest chapter of Pablo Torre’s investigation into alleged salary cap circumvention efforts by Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers feels like a real inflection point in the scandal, with many in the media arguing it is the clearest evidence yet of foul play.
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On his Pablo Torre Finds Out show this week, Torre revealed another previously unknown sponsorship deal between Leonard and Daktronics, a manufacturer that created the famous “halo board” inside the Clippers’ Intuit Dome. Like the previously reported deal with Aspiration, a sustainability firm and also a Clippers partner, Torre reported that the “multi-million dollar” Daktronics deal was not announced publicly and came with no appearances or promotion from Leonard.
The NBA is investigating Leonard and the Clippers over allegations involving the Aspiration partnership and a second endorsement deal, as previously reported by The Athletic. All signs point to the Daktronics deal being a subject in the expanded investigation, meaning the NBA may have been aware of it before Torre’s latest release.
And in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Friday, Torre said “everything should be on the table” when it comes to potential punishments for Leonard, the team, and owner Steve Ballmer, but added that he believes Ballmer could avoid significant punishment.
“If you break the rules … the question is, how do you possibly make it that the cardinal rule is actually treated like it? And so by any standard of fake NBA law, because these are all fake laws, these are all collectively bargained rules that you’ve gotta enforce, I think everything should be on the table. Realistically, in terms of the money and if you follow it, I think there’s a very real chance that Steve Ballmer emerges relatively unscathed, which is kind of insane to me.”
In part because both of the companies Torre has reported on were also official Clippers partners, Torre hinted that it may be difficult to pin any wrongdoing specifically on the owner.
Once again applying pressure on NBA commissioner Adam Silver to rule against the Clippers, Torre noted that Ballmer’s arrival in the league was a signature moment in Silver’s first crisis as commissioner. Now, Torre said, more than a decade later, Silver must decide whether to follow the evidence and issue a fair punishment to the same man.
“I think the question is an Adam Silver question,” Torre said. “Adam Silver is not his mentor, David Stern. Adam Silver is actually the guy who welcomed Steve Ballmer in and was hailed as this … brilliant, progressive leader in comparison to all the other commissioners, Roger Goodell namely at that time. So now he is bookending, perhaps, his tenure with the same guy being an even bigger problem. A complicated problem.”
Torre also noted that the NBA has already cleared the Clippers of wrongdoing in a separate investigation centered on an alleged colleague of Leonard’s and his uncle, who claimed the late former Clippers executive Jerry West hired him to assist in the team’s pursuit of Leonard in 2019.
That only adds to the complicated dynamics around the seemingly growing case against Leonard and the Clippers.
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