The NBA’s findings in the Los Angeles Clippers investigation have added new context to Kawhi Leonard’s alleged off-court compensation while putting ESPN’s August reporting under a new spotlight. The league fined Leonard $700,000, suspended Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year and stripped Los Angeles of five first-round picks.
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That matters because ESPN’s August 17 report had said investigators found no evidence that Ballmer had funneled money through team sponsors to Leonard, while describing the investigation as focused on whether Leonard’s introductions to team sponsors violated NBA rules. The NBA’s final findings went further, saying the Clippers had actively initiated, facilitated and induced endorsement deals involving Leonard and four companies.
After the NBA released its findings, Pablo Torre said on Pablo Torre Finds Out, “There is more to come than is in the NBA’s report. This is not everything. There is still more. I don’t even know if we’re going to get to that, but there’s even more.”
Torre’s warning came as the league handed the Clippers a $30 million fine and five-year compliance program, while forfeiting their 2029 through 2033 first-round picks and suspending Ballmer for one year.
The NBA had already challenged ESPN’s report on August 17, when league spokesperson Mike Bass said, “ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation—for which the NBA declined to cooperate—contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”
The NBA’s final findings were broader than the specific allegation addressed in ESPN’s report. Investigators found that the Clippers affirmatively initiated and facilitated off-court opportunities between Leonard and Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance, while offering team business to companies that entered endorsement agreements with Leonard. In the Aspiration arrangement, Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire LLC, had a $28 million endorsement deal, while Ballmer approved a separate Forum Agreement that investigators said was a precondition for Aspiration to fund Leonard’s deal.
The same pattern extended beyond Aspiration. The NBA said the Clippers used team business to induce endorsement arrangements involving Daktronics, Boingo Wireless and Lockton Insurance. Daktronics, which manufactured the Intuit Dome’s Halo Board, was involved in an endorsement deal with Leonard, while the Boingo and Lockton arrangements were also part of the league’s findings. Leonard received a combined $18 million from the Daktronics, Boingo and Lockton deals by August 2021, according to the investigation.
Torre did not reveal a new document or specific new allegation during the September 2 episode. Instead, he said his investigation was continuing and that he was still looking for more documents. “I encourage people to dig in as we continue to cover it and investigate still, especially now that it seems like the story isn’t over yet. I always want more documents. Somehow still I’m unsatisfied with the documents,” Torre said.
The Clippers have rejected the NBA’s findings and said they will challenge the penalties through arbitration. “We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the team said. “We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”
The NBA’s ruling also cleared the regulatory obstacle holding up Leonard’s move to the Toronto Raptors. As of September 3, the trade had been cleared but was still pending final execution, with ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting that it was expected to be completed within days. Leonard also addressed the move, saying, “As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”
Why Pablo Torre’s Warning Matters
Torre’s warning matters because his earlier reporting helped bring the Clippers’ dealings with Aspiration and other companies into public view before the NBA launched its investigation. His September 2 comments came after the league released a report that confirmed violations involving four corporate partners, but he did not present additional primary evidence during that episode.
The distinction is important. ESPN’s August report was specifically about whether Ballmer had directly funneled money through sponsors to Leonard, and the Wachtell Lipton investigation did not find direct transfers from Ballmer’s personal accounts to Leonard. But the NBA did find that Ballmer knowingly sought to help Leonard obtain off-court income and approved the Forum Agreement with Aspiration after knowing it was a precondition for Leonard’s endorsement deal.
ESPN did not issue a formal retraction after the NBA’s findings. Instead, the network covered the ruling and its implications, with Baxter Holmes addressing the difference between the lack of direct cash transfers from Ballmer and the broader corporate inducements identified by investigators.
The Clippers also entered the case with a history of salary-cap circumvention. The NBA’s report described Los Angeles as a “prior offender” after the franchise was fined $250,000 in 2015 for an impermissible business arrangement offered during the team’s pursuit of DeAndre Jordan. That history is part of the context behind the severity of the latest punishment.
The punishment shows the scale of the NBA’s findings. The Clippers were fined $30 million and lost their 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 first-round picks, while Ballmer was suspended for one year. Gillian Zucker was suspended for one year, Lawrence Frank for six months, and the Clippers were placed under a five-year compliance program. The NBA and NBPA said the penalties are final and binding, although the league reserved the right to consider further action if new evidence emerges.