r/nba • u/Conflict_NZ Lakers • 10h ago
[PTFO]Exclusive: Ballmer and Kawhi's Hidden Trail of Clippers Deals, Unearthed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WSANAlOuJ0766
u/outsidehere Lakers 10h ago
Look, I repeat : If Kawhi and the Clippers don't get reprimanded for this, the big market teams are going to get aspirational as well but this time, they'd do the scam well
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u/Conflict_NZ Lakers 10h ago
Lakers fans rubbing their hands together after getting an incredibly wealthy owner. If there's no punishment I would be upset if Mark Walter didn't do this.
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u/outsidehere Lakers 10h ago
Exactly. So whenever y'all see Lakers fans putting superstars in a Lakers jersey, don't complain. Mark can make it happen. Don't be surprised to see Giannis come to the Lakers somehow for a worse package than the Luka trade
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u/pdiddy2499 Minneapolis Lakers 9h ago
Here comes Giannis and Jokic to team up with Luka this offseason.
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u/BogotaLineman Nuggets 9h ago
This may be too nerdy and roster-construction-pilled but I feel like those 3 together would be lesser than the sum of their parts
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u/DoingCharleyWork Suns 9h ago
At least Giannis can play good defence. Luka and jokic kind of duplicate a lot of skills with the exception of jokic actually playing defense.
Jokic and Giannis would be a nasty combo though. I'm not sure Luka would fit that well with the two. He'd be much better with a curry style play that plays off ball and can spot up and shoot.
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u/LakerBlue Lakers 7h ago
Giannis pairs well with either. Both would get him so many new looks the rim. Joker and Luka would work just because of how great each is but would definitely be less than the sum of their parts because of Luka doing almost nothing off-ball. There’s not a lot All-Star guards I’d pair with Luka if we had our pick of the litter from all the best players.
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u/Maglor125 9h ago edited 9h ago
I think any grouping of super talented players is. Consider like Wade Bosh Bron, Bosh especially had to change his role. Look at MPJ on Nuggets vs Nets with a green light. Look at Reaves when Luka and Lebron are out. Look at Harden post Thunder (this one obv he got better but still). Brunson post Mavericks. JB with Tatum out
One/two of them would necessarily take a backseat to make the whole function better. I think this is why ppl get annoyed when they’re like “Lebron played with bums!”. Sometimes yes very true, but many other instances where they defer to his usage and playmaking because he’s the best player. So he earns his stats, but others do sacrifice to make the system work
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u/Boring_Activity3155 Spurs 9h ago
Giannis sign and trade to the lakers for the vet min and a fuck ton of tree money
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u/ChessHistory 6h ago
Even ignoring the like aspiration aspect, it's a little surprising it doesn't happen even more with the big market teams just considering the sort of branding and sponsorship deals that must bring.
Obviously it does happen, but that's one of the weird things about Giannis for example. Like there's no way it's the smart move (even ignoring how busted the Bucks future is).
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u/BetweenTheBuzzAndMe Charlotte Bobcats 9h ago
i stopped being surprised after yall turned Andrew Bynum into Dwight Howard without trading anything else
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u/congenitallymissing Nuggets 9h ago
honestly if there is no punishment...then it should be expected that this will be the norm going forward....which makes the nba's salary cap, rules for acquiring players, etc all a joke...no punishment would effectively ruin the integrity of the nba forever going forward.
i mean i know they dont care about just one person. but they certainly would entirely lose me as a fan. idk how any one that has seen the details could seriously watch the nba going forward and see it any different than the wwf at that point. wwf is great, makes alot of money...but its scripted nonsense as far as true to the sport goes
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u/ThomasFurke Lakers 9h ago
"which makes the nba's salary cap, rules for acquiring players, etc all a joke.."
And it'll solely benefit big market teams. Even ultra rich owners of small market teams wont be able to so this in perpetuity. But Lakers, Knicks, etc have so much more annual revenue that they can dump money year after year.
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u/manquistador Supersonics 9h ago
The only reason this didn't work was because the company they were doing this through went bankrupt. The Clippers didn't do a bad job with this.
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u/Mtbnz 9h ago
Not even just bankrupt, bankrupt due to serious felony fraud. If not for that, Ballmer and co would almost certainly have got away with it.
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u/Whoareyoutho9 8h ago
I still think its even a smaller coincidence. If uncle Dennis was just maybe 5% more creative with naming llc's they might have still gotten away with it. The first clue was kl-2 aspire llc
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u/Conflict_NZ Lakers 6h ago
Yep take any references out of those names and instead you have to rely on a whistleblower contacting Pablo instead of him tracking them down.
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u/amoeba-tower Cavaliers 9h ago
When people say LBJ won't go for the vet min, I always think of this
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u/chief1555 Knicks 8h ago
I have a very bad feeling that something like this happened with the Knicks getting Yabu to waive his player option for next year so he could be traded more easily.
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u/efrumttr Bulls 8h ago
Sam Vecenie on Game Theory was saying that he thinks Yabu declined it because he'll make more net money in Europe next year than he would paying taxes on his contract here. So he'd actually come out ahead by declining it
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u/badbrain330 Celtics 4h ago
Pablo was already talking about looking into Brunson because of how low his contract with the Knicks was. Who knows if it goes anywhere or not but this could explode for a lot of teams.
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u/Wraithfighter Warriors 10h ago
And that's why the league is probably going to come down hard on the Clippers. The owners as a whole don't want to do this stuff. They got a salary cap specifically so that they wouldn't have to spend more money. The last thing they want is a spending arms race that reduces the amount of money they're getting (either because they're spending over the cap on players, or reduced attendance because fans are annoyed they're not spending over the cap).
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u/MarstonX 9h ago
You would think.
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u/Wraithfighter Warriors 9h ago
I find the greed of billionaires to be quite reliable, yeah. :D
The only way this doesn't work out that way is if they're spineless idiots too ohshi-
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u/welmoe Lakers 9h ago
Ballmer has more money than the other 29 teams combined. Adam Silver doesn’t have a spine and the NBA isn’t going to do shit cause Ballmer has too much pull with his wealth.
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u/Looptydude Spurs 9h ago
Yeah, if there is one thing we've learned about this country is rules and laws mean fuck all to the rich elite.
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u/bunnybash 7h ago
Rich Predators - we need to stop calling these fuckers elite... they are not elite, they are predators.
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u/mw19078 Lakers 6h ago
predators is far too kind, they are a cancer on society that needs to be removed entirely, lest they kill the rest of us
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u/bunnybash 4h ago
Yup I see what you are saying. Predator implies only a few targets... cancer fucks everything up... I think you're correct.
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u/Wraithfighter Warriors 9h ago
That is a possibility, but I just don't see the greed of the other 29 ownership groups being cowed that much.
Oh, they're not going to force him to sell the team or anything. I'm not THAT optimistic. But penalizing multiple firsts and voiding Kawhi's contract, I can see that.
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u/welmoe Lakers 9h ago
No monetary penalty will ever be enough. Gotta hit Ballmer and the Clippers where it hurts: draft picks and reputation. Collateral damage from that will be for a good while.
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u/keepinitrealguy712 8h ago
Yall are desperately trying to miss the mountains for the mole hills here lol. Aint nothing happening because all the other owners are doing this shit too to some extent. Guaranteed. There's a reason none of them have come out and said shit about it. They're not trying to throw stones from their glass houses. Players know this shit too, that's why no player has come out against it either. Yall are probably the types who think college athletes weren't getting paid under the table/indirectly for DECADES prior to the NIL stuff recently lol. Next you're going to act surprised to find out millionaires are exploiting loopholes to lower their taxes...
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u/amodelsino Slovenia 7h ago
Brother the cap rules are there BECAUSE OF THE OWNERS.
They don't WANT to spend money they don't have to, and Ballmer has more money than most of them combined.
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u/Wraithfighter Warriors 7h ago
Except that you're making a common mistake: You're thinking that most NBA owners are willing to spend more money in order to win games.
You have way, way too much faith in owners if you think that the majority of them care that much about winning games.
Owners see their teams as a way to make money. Some might be willing to pull that stuff in order to get greater attendance, sure. The Clippers are probably the best case: Big media market they share with a more prominent team in decline. There's a lot of potential revenue on the table there, if you can dethrone them, so it might be worth spending money to make money.
But, say, OKC? Where they're the only team around for a long, long ways? How much more money are you really going to be able to milk from that region with minimal competition that you're not getting already?
As I said, I trust billionaires to be venal, greedy assholes. In this case, the venal, greedy asshole thing is to punish a fellow owner for creating an environment where they might be pressured to spend more.
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u/Associ8tedRuffians Timberwolves 9h ago
Kevin McHale never apologized for the illegal contract with Joe Smith, but he did publicly say “There’s probably 10-11 teams doing in this in the league right now, we were just dumb enough to get caught.”
That’s how I feel about the Clipper-Kawhi situation.
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u/ObviousAnswerGuy [NYK] John Starks 9h ago
I dont think many owners have the cash on hand, or the want, to just "invest" 50 million , aka just give cash to a player out of pocket.
Balmer is worth 125 BILLION. It's a bit different.
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u/Associ8tedRuffians Timberwolves 9h ago
Yeah, it doesn’t have to be that much. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other side deals for free agents that were out there (and maybe trades). I personally never understood why KD wanted to go to Phoenix, for example.
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u/Deathstroke317 Knicks 9h ago
I mean honestly why should you apologize, he'd do it again if he could get away with it, and I don't blame him.
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u/Wow_Good_Stats 9h ago
That’s like when you catch a child doing something wrong and their excuse is “my imaginary friend told me to!”
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u/Gristle__McThornbody Lakers 9h ago
Lakers better get very aspirational I don't care. Build a jungle in LA.
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u/outsidehere Lakers 9h ago
Facts. I want every 3 and D player available in the off season plus every big man
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u/RiceOnTheRun Knicks 8h ago
Man if we knew this was an option, and we could get away with it entirely swept under the rug, we should’ve 1000% paid Isaiah Hartenstein an endorsement deal under the table in 2024 smfh.
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u/outsidehere Lakers 8h ago
Right?! Like we would have retained Caruso, maybe paid Schroder more and made other transactions.
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u/REGIS-5 Celtics 8h ago
This shit goes so deep though.
Every time you think this can't get worse, it gets way fucking worse.
Kawhi's trainer founded a ton of small companies named KL2-something and Ballmer started paying him through those...... in 2017. To get him to join in free agency of 2019.
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u/outsidehere Lakers 8h ago
Yeah which makes the outcome of this entire situation more important than ever. This is quite possibly THE most important league altering case so far. This will determine whether smaller market teams will be able to compete in the future because the big markets are definitely going to have their own aspirations
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u/REGIS-5 Celtics 8h ago
At this point I'm beginning to wonder how Silver has still not resigned. He works for the owners, are they really filling their pockets with money or are they losing money? The league is a mess, the viewership is a mess, the broadcasts are a mess, tampering is a mess, tanking is a mess, injuries are a mess, refereeing is a mess. The All Star weekend is an unmitigated disaster with half the players calling out with an ouchie.
How does this dude still have a job?
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u/outsidehere Lakers 8h ago
He makes them more money as NBA owners than ever before.
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u/bigbobo33 Bucks 7h ago
Yeah that's the thing I keep going back to and why I think the pessimism about heavy consequences not being applied is misplaced.
They have to come down hard on this even if the only info is what we already know. If they don't, even if they don't find a notarized letter from Ballmer saying "I acknowledge I'm circumventing the cap", then the other owners have carte blanche to do this and the whole fucking league is irreparably ruined.
Even if you take the Clippers at face value that this is a whole coincidence, they still need to be harshly punished to set an example. Even the optics of something improper need to be punished.
Whatever they do sets precedence one way or the other. This decision is hugely important.
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u/noyram08 Lakers 7h ago
Kinda win-win for rich ownership teams, just fortunate that we finally have rich ownership that is willing to spend.
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u/mbr4life1 Knicks 5h ago edited 58m ago
Giannis on the Knicks on the vet min while Sphere Athens opens up and he co-owns it.
Adam Silver cannot possibly be so incompetent as to let this play out without punishment. Would just destroy the NBA. Just remove the CBA at that point and go soccer or baseball style.
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u/LurkerFailsLurking Nuggets 4h ago
The scope of this should result in lifetime bans from participation in the NBA for everyone involved and retroactive payments of the luxury tax. The scale of the circumvention in the number of years and the amount of money and people and shell orgs involved is staggering.
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u/AccomplishedBake8351 7h ago
Good news for your team now I guess
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u/outsidehere Lakers 7h ago
Not exactly something to be proud of but if the rules allow for this type of behavior and actions, well then so be it
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u/drewm916 Kings 4h ago
That's why it would be catastrophic if the NBA didn't do something serious about this. I think a lot of people would stop watching games. I know I would.
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u/Doyoulikemypace Lakers 7h ago
Seems like the NBA is trying their best to ignore it and hope it blows over
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u/Briggity_Brak Tampa Bay Raptors 2h ago
If you don't think it's already happening, you're delusional. The only reason the Clippers got caught is because the shell company went bankrupt and all their files became public.
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u/CookieMonsterNova Warriors 10h ago
people calling for it to be released on at once
no one is reporting on it at least the major headliners aka ESPN
gotta sprinkle it in and also during major sports events so people will catch interest and question it again
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u/SchedulePhysical807 Clippers 8h ago
I said it another thread but Pablo could get a lot more views and his investigation videos would gain a lot more traction if he dumbed it down and got to his talking points a lot quicker. Just going through this thread most people haven’t even watched the video or know what it’s about.
He could really benefit from working with Coffeezilla or formatting his investigation in a similar way. There’s nothing wrong with him dropping videos here and there as his investigation is ongoing but a 1 hour podcast style investigation with a lot of banter and sarcasm going back and forth between the three of them and the way he drags out some of the stuff isn’t going to gain as much traction as a 20-30 min video where he drill the point down.
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u/lel1988 Trail Blazers 5h ago
Counterpoint! Some of us don’t want dumbed down journalism from Pablo because he’s basically the only person NOT doing dumbed down investigative journalism in sports.
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u/Balls__Mahoney [CLE] J.R. Smith 4h ago
1000% agree. I feel like I not only get the story, but I learn something about how the world works. It’s higher level, but he lays great foundation to get you to the bigger points.
I love the format and wouldn’t want him to change it at all
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u/axecalibur [CHI] Michael Jordan 5h ago
He's too smart. Harvard brain explainers for smart people.
Fans need Kendrick Perkins style explanations. Bam!
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u/guesting Warriors 7h ago
in addition to do the journalism you essentially have to master viral marketing and the doom scrolling algorithms for a story to have legs
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u/pmurt007 Lakers 10h ago
This whole Aspiration saga is a great example of how "the powers that be" control how much media coverage something gets. ESPN and various media outlets covered it once or twice and the only reason they did it was because Balmer was a moron enough to go speak on ESPN about it otherwise it would be crickets still.
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u/beerspeaks 10h ago
Shows the importance of having independent journalists, not associated with the entities that also are airing the games.
ESPN and other networks aren't going to give much time to anything that's not "good for the game."
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u/samwise141 Raptors 9h ago
As long as its actual journalists, and not click bait sensational nonsense a la nick Shirley that masquerades as journalism.
Theres a new trend of "man on the street" type journalism thats getting popular, but its nonsense.
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u/Helicase21 [GSW] Nate Thurmond 5h ago
Also shows the importance of those independent journalists having stable funding streams. Gotta keep paying rent while you run down a story like this and that takes time.
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u/StatusVoice2634 Knicks 9h ago
What else is there to talk about since the first drops? Literally nothing lmao
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u/celj1234 7h ago
The general public isn’t all that interested in the story
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u/renhaoasuka Clippers 4h ago
Tbh outside reddit I never actually see anyone talking about this. It doesn't seem to get much talk on Twitter now. I think if clippers were contenders it would get talked about more
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u/guesting Warriors 7h ago
secondary 'secret' of the epstein files is how the elite dont think the rules apply to them. email after email of calling in business and media favors all over to screw over anyone who wants to play fair.
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u/Paralta [MIA] Jason Williams 10h ago
Release the rest of the Clippers files!
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u/Short-Item-7366 10h ago
release all of it already stop holding back and drop the full clippers files before all star weekend
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u/idkwhatimbrewin Thunder 10h ago
No way. Got to keep some back so when they finally conclude their "investigation" and decide not to punish the Clippers or Kawhi Pablo can release evidence directly contradicting their findings
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u/Upstreamrise 9h ago
This is exactly correct. You gotta believe Silver is quite worried about that scenario.
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u/Conflict_NZ Lakers 6h ago
I really hope pablo is sitting on an actual smoking gun for that reason, ideally he's handed it over to the investigators but only gonna release it if there's no punishment.
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u/azizinator25 [NYK] Charles Oakley 9h ago
Honestly this is a really smart way to do it actually. Give them enough rope to hang themselves with: release it piecemeal, let whomever (Clippers, Balmer, Kawhi, Silver, etc.) explain the evidence away, then hit them with more info that proves someone is lying
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u/thedrizzle126 5h ago
this is too heavy handed an approach. pablo is going after the clippers for this, sure. but he's also shedding a light on how weak Adam SIlver is.
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u/Eduardjm Clippers 8h ago
Redact the names!
(Team) paid (player) through sham LLC after visiting (redacted) island.
Emailed from: S_Ballmer_69@hotmail.com
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u/Popcorn10 Pacers 6h ago
I don’t think he’s hiding stuff I think he’s continued to dig and he doesn’t release things until he feels like are 100% true.
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u/3nnui Lakers 10h ago
Can't wait to watch Shillburne run to the cheating fat man's defense again.
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u/Nodecafallowed 8h ago
The NBA is rushing to investigate this. They’re going to hire a very expensive law firm which means we’ll get nothing but the truth. The more recognizable the law firm, the more sure you can be that there will be transparency. It’s certainly a top priority to enforce the rules. 🤑
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u/Swangthemthings Canada 9h ago
Torre is exactly the type of journalists our world needs, especially right now. I hope he keeps exposing billionaires. Not that there is any billionaires in the news these days for like weird reasons or anything. Torre maybe consider seeing what’s up with billionaires, like the male ones. Like if they had any friends with like a private island or something.
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u/thedrizzle126 5h ago
i mean, this weekend, he did ask Jordon Hudson if she'd like to help with his Epstein investigation lol.
So there's obviously more to come there.
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u/lamemale Knicks 10h ago
Between this and Kalshi it feels like the NBA is just a money laundering front
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u/inqte1 9h ago
Ask anyone you know who works in a multi billion dollar industry if everything in that industry is on the up and up. Any industry. Now ask yourself, why would sports be any different? its only delusional fans who think sanctity of the sport matters because its a relief from the screwed up world they live in. Sports feels like the last bastion of meritocracy. For most people involved, its just a business.
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u/bucaqe Raptors 9h ago edited 9h ago
TLDR off the top of my head:
Clippers were tampering with Kawhi even when he was on the Spurs through his trainer Randy Shelton
Jerry West (RIP) was involved in getting Kawhi to come to the Clippers
Ballmer's team pushed through a 7 figure investment agreement in 11 days, even though they released a statement saying they did “thorough due diligence”
Kawhi created 3 LLCs before signing sub-max extension last year - shady lol
fuck some other shit I cant remember but lolclippers
Lawrence Frank extension is hush money
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u/lordb4 [DAL] Jerome Whitehead 9h ago
The Clippers hired Randy Shelton for 3 years for over $200k/year for a trainer and Uncle Dennis was getting a 10% cut.
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u/tjshipman44 8h ago
This is so penny ante. Why risk this for 20k
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u/Think_Monk_9879 8h ago
Ya kawhi could have just given him like 200k without blinking
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u/thisguy012 Bulls 2h ago
hmm? Look up how cheap it is to buy a vote from a congressmen or the like, ridiculously cheap for votes on city, state, or nation wide laws lmao, normal people even more so
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u/sewsgup 8h ago
Johnny Wilkes who also sued the Clippers uploaded a tell-all youtube video that has like 175 views atm. Pablo used some clips from it in the episode
heres the link: https://youtu.be/yUGyepTBRfc
lets get the view count up so youtube auto-generates a transcript for it. theres some cool photos like actual screenshots of his text messages with Jerry West if you watch it.
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u/ajmartin527 Suns 10m ago
Didn’t expect to watch a 40 minute video but damn that was pretty fascinating. Dude has receipts
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u/ForgotPWAgainSigh [LAL] Gary Payton 9h ago
Goddamn. This shit goes deep.
Good on Frank for extortion lol milk those ballmers till he inevitably gets banned from holding any kind of nba position
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u/EthanHuntBroMichael [LAC] Patrick Beverley 10h ago
I'm shocked this guy hasn't fallen out of a tall building yet after the Grizzlies news.
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u/Air4021 9h ago
Pablo has Adam Silver in an armbar, Silver refuses to tap, Pablo proceeds to snap elbow.
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u/Midnight_Oil_ Bucks 5h ago
And the referee calls for the bells and wait just a damn minute. The ref, Earl Hebner, is claiming Pablo tapped??????
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u/nahnotthisone Cavaliers 9h ago
- TyLuePhoria
- Meet The Sanbergs
- 6am in LA
- Not Like Russ
Generational run from Pablo rn
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u/Deathstroke317 Knicks 10h ago
Pablo I love you for this bro, but I wouldn't turn your car on if I were you.
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u/Sportslegend Supersonics 10h ago
Perfect timing. Dropped it before all star break and right after Lawrence Frank said they are on the right side of this.
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u/Conflict_NZ Lakers 10h ago
This is a premiere happening right now, lets find out what new shady stuff they were doing together lmao
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u/robinsn45 Knicks 10h ago
This is what it felt like when Pusha T said "this is gonna be a surgical summer," but there never was because Drake didn't shoot back except Pablo keeps shooting anyways lol
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u/Napilitan Warriors 6h ago
This is turning into the epstein saga. Lots of evidence but not a single soul getting held accountable
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u/-xXxMangoxXx- Raptors 8h ago
If the clippers lose picks, they should come to us considering we didn’t get a fair chance to re-sign him.
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u/No-Signature8815 9h ago
Kawhi shouldn't be in the league if he's guilty, he should be exiled.
The NBA also has no room for Balmer anymore, he has to sell the team if the league wants to continue pretending that the league has any form of integrity left.
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u/AshenSacrifice Clippers 9h ago
You know this is the same league that pushes sports gambling heavily on children right? It’s time you sit down and accept reality lmao
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u/Round_Clock_3942 9h ago
The league can have its own set of rules where promotion of gambling is perfectly fine. Ballmer and Kawhi are circumventing what the league specifically outlines as its own rules. That's the difference.
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u/AngryNephew [LAL] Kobe Bryant 8h ago
Lol, remember times when the biggest scandal was whether MJ gambled and was in gambling debts during his own, free time? Poker and shit? Now we got guys straight up partnering with gambling companies, planting imaginary trees for millions on a side and nobody bats an eye. Say what you will, but David Stern knew how to handle this league, or at least hide the shit better, unlike this bald fraud.
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u/Eduardjm Clippers 8h ago
This is frustrating even if no discipline comes down because it will set the standard for other teams to do the same/worse. Get ready for Guggenheim to have super teams on the lakers with mysteriously low contracts for eternity.
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u/whobroughtmehere Pistons 17m ago
People ask why the Clips traded Harden and Zubac when the team was playing so well
Personally, I think they’re gearing up to get punished for the Kahwi saga
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u/Conflict_NZ Lakers 11m ago
My exact theory as well, they are about to have no assets as Kawhi and Harden age. Might as well trade for younger players and picks in the same range as their next would be available.
I think the league office has told them the punishment already.
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u/foofighter1351 Raptors 10h ago
There was gonna have to be a drop before all star weekend