{"id":2099188,"date":"2026-08-18T14:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2099188"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:30:07","slug":"the-bounce-confusion-reigns-in-nbas-clippers-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2099188","title":{"rendered":"The Bounce: Confusion reigns in NBA\u2019s Clippers investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong>\u00a0\":basketball:\"<\/span>\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Jeanie Buss is trying to stop her family<\/a> from selling their remaining 17.8 percent stake<\/a> in the Los Angeles Lakers. It\u2019s just the latest twist and turn in this hectic $12.5 billion sale of the historic franchise. Make sure to follow our ongoing coverage in The Athletic<\/em>. We\u2019ll have more about it in Friday\u2019s Bounce.<\/p>\n

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Investigation station<\/h3>\n

NBA refutes report on Clippers probe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember the NBA\u2019s investigation into whether the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap with Kawhi Leonard by funneling money to him through fake sponsorships? We\u2019re coming up on the first anniversary of its launch, and perhaps you\u2019re wondering if it has concluded. Guess what? It has not.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, there was a report from ESPN<\/a> that the NBA found no evidence of Steve Ballmer funneling money to Leonard. According to that report:<\/p>\n

Instead, the NBA is focused on whether the team\u2019s introduction of Leonard to team sponsors constitutes a violation of the league\u2019s rules prohibiting salary cap circumvention, two of the sources said. The league is examining whether the Clippers are guilty of \u201cfailure to supervise\u201d employees, though it\u2019s unclear what specific rule the team would have violated or what the penalties would be, two of the sources said.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sounds promising that we\u2019re coming to an end, right? Think again!<\/strong> This positive report (if you\u2019re a Clippers fan) was almost immediately refuted<\/a> by the NBA. The league issued a statement addressing the ESPN report<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cESPN\u2019s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation \u2014 for which the NBA declined to cooperate \u2014 contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The investigation is still ongoing. But \u201ccoincidentally,\u201d the Clippers then issued their own press release, saying that \u201cmaking introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives.\u201d The Clippers\u2019 statement ended with the team\u2019s insistence that it \u201cdid not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard, arrange for others to compensate him on our behalf, or otherwise provide him with undisclosed compensation outside of his NBA contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Clippers and Steve Ballmer maintain that they\u2019ve done nothing wrong. The one thing they seem not to really understand, though, is that the more they issue unnecessary press releases, the worse it looks<\/strong>. Considering how many statements they\u2019ve made over the last year, it\u2019s clear they really want the public to believe they\u2019re innocent.<\/p>\n

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{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

Which they might be! We won\u2019t know any time soon because the investigation still won\u2019t end.<\/p>\n

By the way: Pablo Torre, who knows a lot about this, has chimed in<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The last 24<\/h3>\n

\ud83c\udfc0 Out of the shadows. <\/strong>The Lakers sale and a federal investigation have put a spotlight on Mark Walter. He has always avoided attention<\/a>. <\/strong>Speaking of Walter, he\u2019s also selling in the Premier League<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude4c HOF moments. <\/strong>The 2026 Hall of Fame enshrinement was held over the weekend. I highly recommend reliving the fun parts of the ceremony here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcb0 Another step. <\/strong>The Spurs are trying to get a new arena in San Antonio. They just cleared a hurdle to get it done<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\ud83c\udfc0 Good investment? <\/strong>Want Michael Jordan\u2019s Game 3 jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals? You\u2019ll probably need to bid a few million<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stream the NBA on Fubo (<\/em>try it for free!<\/a>)<\/em>\u00a0and catch out-of-market games on\u00a0<\/em>League Pass<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mark your calendars<\/h3>\n

Rating the opening night, Christmas games<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week was that wonderful time when the NBA released its schedule. So we can start picking apart the decisions for the marquee matchups.<\/p>\n

This year, we\u2019re going to break it down with the Schedule Optimization Score meter. Or the SOS for short. It\u2019s a highly complicated and sophisticated computer program designed by former NASA experts* to properly rate the NBA\u2019s key schedule decisions. It is a scale of 1-5 emojis, with 1 being a poor call and 5 being perfect programming.<\/p>\n

* \u2013 I watch a lot of space videos on TikTok.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(All times ET)<\/em><\/p>\n

Opening night (all on NBC\/Peacock)<\/strong><\/p>\n