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.
Pablo Torre is surprised by ESPN revealing Clippers are negotiating their punishmentTorre 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 also reacted to the Clippers’ statement on this reveal and the NBA refuting ESPN’s report into the investigation, linking it to the claimed negotiations between Ballmer and the NBA over this debacle.
“What we’re seeing actually is that a backstage negotiation is spilling out into the public, and maybe the public should know a bit more.”
What did ESPN say about Steve Ballmer’s involvement in Clippers punishment negotiations?ESPN claimed that the NBA and the Clippers are negotiating a way to settle the investigation, with Ballmer’s attorney David N. Kelley and NBA general counsel Rick Buchanan.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images“In recent days, both sides have been negotiating a resolution to the investigation, the people said. Those talks — led by attorney David N. Kelley of law firm O’Melveny & Myers for Ballmer and the Clippers, and NBA general counsel Rick Buchanan — at times have been ‘spirited,’ one source said.”
The article also reiterated the belief that Ballmer would drag any punishment he deemed unfit through the courts, with his right to demand arbitration, further incentivising the league to find a solution that doesn’t further drag this situation deep into the regular season.
“Ballmer has insisted repeatedly in conversations with confidants that he will not accept a league result that asserts he or the team intended to circumvent the salary cap and would instead bring the matter to arbitration, according to multiple sources with knowledge of his thinking.”
The NBA has not made its findings public yet, and the investigation continues less than two months from the start of the 2026-27 season.
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