Pablo Torre might have found his most damning piece of evidence against the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard. The investigative journalist brought the allegations of possible cap circumvention through the now bankrupt company Aspiration. It raised enough concerns that the NBA is doing its own independent investigation. That hasn’t stopped Torre from digging.

And he found a vital paper. During the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which aired live, Torre showed the crowd a 2023 whistleblower complaint to the SEC. The SEC is also the same body that opened the probe into Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg. The complaint clearly states the employee or associated person witnessed the Clippers’ $32 million escrow account being used exclusively to pay Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire, was listed as a creditor. Their endorsement deal netted the Klaw $7 million per year. However, the whistleblower’s report suggests Kawhi Leonard received “an incentivized bonus to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap”. And the anonymous employee was willing to stand by his accusations.

According to Pablo Torre, the whistleblower was open to being prosecuted in the event of spreading false information. The screenshots shared also showed that a second employee was willing to co-sign on the accusations brought forward as well. If proven, this is the “smoking gun” evidence Pablo Torre sought out for since digging into the case.

As for the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, they maintain their innocence. Steve Ballmer says the team was a victim of fraud. At the same time, Torre has also reported a few suspicious payments, such as Ballmer’s $10 million injection in March 2023 when Aspiration was barely hanging on or minority owner David Wong’s $2 million investment, after which the company paid Leonard.

At this point, it’s unwise to point fingers as outsiders. Torre feels there’s substantial evidence. But the NBA wants to make sure it’s thorough.

Adam Silver says the NBA’s investigation is still underway

Adam Silver was shocked to learn of the accusations against the Clippers. The NBA can’t in its right mind allow such practices to persist. Likewise, they hired New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz to carry forward the investigations. As of the latest update, the NBA Commissioner revealed they are still actively investigating the matter.

“It’s enormously complex. You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed. I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is ‘Do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office,’ and that’s where things now stand,” Silver said.

Even with the proof provided by Pablo Torre, the league will have to proceed legally to make its judgments. With the whistleblower’s complaint being publicly accessible, there’s the question of why it wasn’t pursued at the time of its filing. There’s little to argue about the legitimacy of the documents. Torre has ensured it’s crisp evidence he can lay out to push the NBA to arrive at a decision.

At the moment, Kawhi Leonard continues to play for the Clippers. He and Ballmer are confident about no wrongdoing from their end. How do you think Torre’s latest evidence changes the case? Let us know your views in the comments below.