Investigative journalist Pablo Torre analyzes what the Los Angeles Clippers would command in a potential franchise sale compared to the Los Angeles Lakers' valuation benchmark.
Assertion Partly supported
Torre: Kawhi Leonard was contracted for $48M from Aspiration to do nothing
“And what they say and what they provide in the tonnage of all the reporting I did for months, seven months before we came out with part one of the series one year ago today, was documentation that attested to the fact that Kawhi Leonard was paid According to t…”
Assertion Supported
Torre: Steve Ballmer used four companies to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard
“And I say that because, according to the NBA's investigation and my own, this was not merely a scheme that he ran to funnel money with one company aspiration. He did it with four. He did it with the scoreboard manufacturer, multi-million dollar deal for Kawhi …”
Assertion Supported
Torre: Ballmer Created Fake Consulting Agreements to Pay Kawhi Leonard
“What they really did was they created fake jobs for Kawhi Leonard and fake consulting agreements, consulting fees for the companies.”
Assertion Partly supported
Torre: Steve Ballmer threatened NBA Commissioner Adam Silver with litigation by name
“He has now threatened personally with litigation Adam Silver by name in a letter through his lawyers.”
Assertion Partly supported
Torre: NBA Hit Steve Ballmer With Largest Owner Sanction in American Sports History
“This was the biggest punishment for an owner in the history of, I think, American professional sports, and the NBA took five first-round picks, which is the most you could imagine. They took thirty million dollars, which is a rounding error, of course, for Bal…”
Opinion
Torre: NBA Settled With Kawhi Leonard to Box Steve Ballmer Out of Arbitration
“When Kawhi Leonard got a slap on the wrist, only 700,000 dollars, no suspension, no voiding of the contract, no nothing. He agreed to a settlement that was quite favorable, and the question was, why? Well, Kawhi Leonard's settlement meant that the arbitration …”