Pablo Torre calls out NBA media over doubts of his Clippers report

Pablo Torre lit up the NBA news cycle with his report on Kawhi Leonard’s $28 million endorsement deal tied to Clippers sponsor Aspiration.

Now that the league has launched a formal investigation, Torre is making it clear he is not backing down.

“The frustration I have is when people weigh in without actually doing the reporting,” Torre said on Nothing Personal with David Samson. “If you didn’t do the work but you’re talking confidently, it is obvious to those who did.”

The response around the league has been all over the place.

Former Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban went so far as to call himself “Team Ballmer.” ESPN’s Shams Charania has suggested that deals like Leonard’s are not unusual.

Torre sees those arguments as proof of the bigger problem.

“Why would people tell you this is normal?” he asked. “Because it’s absurd. If you are listening closely, that is the real story.”

Some critics have knocked Torre for not producing a “smoking gun” like the paper trail that doomed the Timberwolves in the Joe Smith case 25 years ago.

Torre counters by saying most violators are not careless enough to write down what they are doing.

What he does have are contracts involving Leonard, Aspiration and the Clippers. Torre made a point of placing those documents on his desk during his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast episode.

He also pushed back on questions about the credibility of his sources, since Aspiration itself has faced federal fraud charges.

“None of my seven sources is going to jail. These are people I stake my reputation on,” Torre said.

Fans seem to be siding with Torre and want the NBA to take the matter seriously. Torre says he is ready for any level of scrutiny.

“I would love to talk about what we reported with anybody, in any setting, under any spotlight,” he said.