Editor's Note: Hey, a Clark Matthews post! Cool!
Like most Ivy League graduates who studied journalism despite it's modern day shortcomings, Pablo Torre has resorted to the things most journalism majors have had to do in order to pay back those student loans – yelling on TV for ESPN and trying to build a following on alternative forms of media.
But, unlike most Ivy Leaguers adjusting to the new media landscape, his work has not been centered around how woke college students are ruining American society.
Instead, Torre has chosen to do real investigative journalism packaged in a way that still manages to get them clicks. His most recent discovery has a fascinating connection to the Oklahoma City Thunder that has been mostly overlooked.
QUICK HISTORY LESSON…
In the Summer of 2019, Kawhi Leonard was coming off a triumphant run as the driving force behind a surprising Toronto Raptors championship run. In his single season as a Raptor, Leonard was named as 2nd team all-NBA and all-defense, won his second Finals MVP award, and went into free agency as the most coveted unrestricted free agent since Kevin Durant.
Ordinarily, the top free agent on the market is one of the first players to make their decision. All the teams that could potentially convince that player to sign with them are typically in a state of stasis until that player is off the market, and other players seeking contracts are stuck waiting for the premiere player to make a decision, so the snubbed teams come after them with the money they had reserved for their first choice. Free agency begins at the start of July, and remember that Kevin Durant made his decision on the 4th.
That’s typical.
In 2019, Kawhi went weeks stringing along his suitors. In a reversal of the norm, the top player was one of the last free agents still on the market. On the 10th of July, many Thunder fans woke up to the shocking story that Paul George, a player who had finished third in MVP voting and had only a year earlier committed to the team via contract extension, had been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for an exorbitant package that included both promising rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and seven draft assets. This trade was directly linked to the Clippers’ recruitment of Leonard. Later that day, reports came that he had committed to sign with the Clips.
BACK TO PABLO TORRE…
In an episode of Pablo Torre’s podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” that was originally released on September 3rd, the topic was the bankruptcy of a company called Aspiration that “sold carbon credits.” The reason this was of interest to a sports journalist was that Aspiration had a close relationship with the Clippers. Despite being little more than an environmental start-up company, the team had signed on as the primary sponsor for the team, including a deal to be the jersey sponsor (think about the atrocious Love’s patch that adorns OKC jerseys).
In 2019, Aspiration had secured around $250 million in venture capital funding and was itching to be in business with the NBA. In a later episode of the podcast, former Dallas Mavericks managing owner Mark Cuban claimed that Aspiration’s CEO Joe Sanberg had reached out to him via email about a similar deal. Cuban read excerpts from the initial email and claims that communication ended because the pitch smelled fishy.
Steve Ballmer, who owns 99% of the Clippers and is currently the world’s sixth richest man and richest sports team owner, was more interested in doing business with Aspiration. In addition to the jersey sponsorship, Aspiration agreed to a $300 million sponsorship of the new arena the team was building. Ballmer also chose to invest $50 million of his own money into the company.
ANOTHER HISTORY LESSON…
The oddity of Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 free agency was noted at the time. Rumors circulated that Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, was a vocal member of the negotiations team and that his demands were beyond the scope of what teams were allowed to offer. According to the Toronto Star, when the Toronto Raptors attempted to re-sign their star player, “Uncle Dennis” demanded three things:
- The Raptors had to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder
- The team had to arrange for $10 million/year in outside endorsements for which Kawhi would do no work
- The team would give Kawhi ownership stake in the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Raptors made a gallant effort at accomplishing the first demand, supposedly offering the Thunder Pascal Siakam, at the time a far more advanced prospect than Gilgeous-Alexander, who had been pivotal in helping the team win their championship. However, the team balked at the other two demands since they were super illegal based on the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Lakers were the other finalist for Kawhi’s services that Summer, and they reported “Uncle Dennis's" demand for outside money to the NBA. The league investigation uncovered no evidence.
BACK TO PABLO TORRE…
Among the documents Torre was able to review—because Aspiration had since filed for bankruptcy and their founding partners had pleaded guilty to defrauding investors—was an endorsement contract the company had made with Kawhi Leonard. Among the clauses in the contract was an opt-out for Aspiration in the event Leonard was no longer a member of the Clippers, and contract language that gave Kawhi the option to decline any requests for endorsement.
This contract was for four years and $28 million to be paid in quarterly installments of $1.75 million.
Aspiration had other celebrity endorsers whose agreements were also reviewed by Torre. They included known environmentalists and Hollywood royalty like Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey, Jr. Their financial compensation was dwarfed by Leonard’s deal. Unlike Leonard, these celebrities performed in advertisements for the company.
Torre found no evidence that Leonard had ever done so much as “like” a tweet by Aspiration.
In addition to the endorsement that Torre has characterized as a “no-show job,” The Boston Sports Journal discovered that Aspiration’s owner also gifted Leonard with $20 million of his personal stock options. This expands the deal with Kawhi to at least $48 million. A number staggeringly close to the $50 million that Ballmer personally invested in the company. And it also parallels very closely with what the Raptors say Uncle Dennis had demanded from them.
Things got even more coincidental in a follow-up podcast that Torre released on September 11th. At a time when Aspiration had just fired their president and general counsel, had stopped paying creditors, including Leonard, and were preparing to announce layoffs because they could not make payroll, they received a shocking $2 million investment. That investment came from Dennis Wong, the person who owns the 1% of the Clippers that Ballmer does not possess. Days later, Kawhi was paid the $1.75 million Aspiration owed him. The same day Leonard received his money, the company laid off 20% of their staff.
ONE MORE HISTORY LESSON…
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had described salary cap circumvention as a “cardinal sin” for the league. The most famous case of circumvention occurred in 2001 when the Minnesota Timberwolves promised Joe Smith, who the team wanted badly to help them in keeping Kevin Garnett happy, a maximum contract, far more than he could be offered anywhere else, if he would first play for them for two years at a below-market contract.
When this was discovered, the NBA brought the hammer down on the Wolves. Naturally, the team was fined. Team President Glen Taylor and General Manager Kevin McHale were suspended from the league for one year. In addition, the team was initially stripped of five first-round draft picks (later revised to three). Most significantly, Joe Smith was given the option of being suspended from the league for a full year or having his contract voided and being barred from playing for the Wolves.
HOW THIS RELATES TO OKC…
Sam Presti knows when he has leverage. With every team in the Kawhi Sweepstakes knowing they needed to pry Paul George away from the Thunder, his asking price for George bordered on extortion. The Clippers happily paid the price of future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and seven unprotected first-round draft picks (including two “swaps”) because it assured them a recent MVP finalist and the reigning Finals MVP as the cornerstones of a franchise planning to build a billion-dollar arena.
That trade with the Clippers has, so far, netted the Thunder the current MVP in Shai, and one of those draft picks was used for Jalen “J-Dub” Williams, who was named to both the 2nd team all-NBA and all-defense teams this past season (ironically, the same accolades accomplished by Leonard in the season before the Clippers signed him). Dub is also a cult hero in OKC because he dropped 40 points in an NBA Finals game despite playing with a torn ligament in the wrist of his shooting hand.
It is pretty safe to say the Thunder are not the reigning NBA champions right now if they had not made this trade that netted these two building blocks. Meanwhile, they are still owed two draft picks from the Clippers.
Theoretically, this Pablo Torre investigation could have huge ramifications that benefit Oklahoma City. For instance, if the league comes down harder on the Clippers than they did on the Timberwolves (and arguably, the Clippers' crimes dwarf what Minnesota did), that could have big repercussions for the team fielding a competitive team.
What if Kawhi has his contract voided and the team loses their best player?
What if they are penalized in ways that make it difficult to sign players? (They are currently the oldest team in NBA history.)
Their next two first-round draft picks are owed to the Thunder: one outright and one a pick-swap. With the Thunder expected to remain a championship contender, that swap could move them from the end of the first round to potentially the front of the draft if the Clippers cannot field a competitive team.
THE FUNNIEST OUTCOME…
Imagine that the league does void Leonard’s contract, still having two years and $100 million owed to him, before the 2025/2026 season begins with the same stipulations given to Joe Smith 25 years ago. At this point, every team has used their cap space for the upcoming season, but Kawhi would suddenly be available to every team except the Clippers. The most any team would have to offer him for this upcoming season would be the “non-taxpayer mid-level exception” of $14 million. Even that is probably not available. His best offer may be a taxpayer exception of $5.6 million.
As a player who has battled injuries over the years, Leonard is unlikely to find that amount of money worth risking his services. He might be tempted to sit out the year entirely and wait until next Summer when teams can make space to give him an offer closer to what he is accustomed.
However… There is a team out there who can offer him the mid-level exception and also has enough depth that Kawhi could essentially be a part-time player until the playoffs come around, protecting him from injury. They are also a team that could offer him a good chance at winning another championship while he bides his time to cash in again.
What would an all-time defensive monster like the OKC Thunder look like with another all-defense player as a luxury?
