ESPN is pushing back after drawing heavy criticism for its Clippers coverage, with one of the reporters on the story saying the outlet’s Aug. 17 report accurately reflected what the NBA knew at the time.
Investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. told Puck’s John Ourand that the key question is how that ESPN story lines up with the findings in the Wachtell report that came more than two weeks later.
“For this particular story, the most important test, in our view, is how our Aug. 17 story holds up against the findings ultimately released in the Wachtell report more than two weeks later,” Van Natta told Ourand, via Awful Announcing.
The ESPN piece ran with the headline, “Sources: NBA has no evidence Ballmer funneled money to Leonard via sponsors.”
That reporting came before the NBA hit the Clippers with one of the toughest penalties in league history for salary-cap circumvention involving Kawhi Leonard. The league stripped Los Angeles of five future first-round picks, fined the team $30 million and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year.
The punishment triggered a wave of backlash toward ESPN, especially over the way the earlier story was framed. Van Natta also addressed another part of the reaction, saying ESPN was not trying to rebut Pablo Torre’s reporting, which first brought the Leonard situation into the spotlight.
“Our reporting was in no way a response to, or an assessment of, earlier reporting on this topic, by Pablo Torre or anyone else,” Van Natta said.
He also said Torre and his team were “rightfully commended” for surfacing the questions that led to the investigation.
ESPN, then, is standing behind its reporting. The real argument now is less about whether the facts in the story were wrong and more about what readers were meant to understand from the way those facts were presented.
In Other News...
Clippers Linked To A Lakers Trade Rumor With Real Bench Stakes
The Lakers are still working to trim their roster down to the league limit, and in the process they have been active in trade talks involving Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt. Knecht has drawn interest, but his market appears limited for now, and nothing has been finalized as Los Angeles continues to sift through options around the margins of its bench.
One proposal making the rounds would send Knecht to the Clippers in a deal built around a second-round pick, a type of move that would only matter if both sides see enough value in reshuffling depth now. For the Clippers, any discussion like this is less about splash and more about whether a quiet bench upgrade is worth the cost of taking on a young player whose status around the league is still unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Suddenly Have A Bigger Kawhi Leonard Problem Than Expected
The Clippers are still dealing with the fallout from the leagues discipline tied to the salary-cap circumvention case around Kawhi Leonard, a mess that already cost the franchise $30 million, five first-round picks and temporary suspensions for several top executives, including owner Steve Ballmer. Leonard himself was fined $700,000 and cleared to move to the Toronto Raptors, but the broader damage from the investigation has left the organization sorting through a situation that reaches well beyond the original scandal.
What has made the episode even more awkward is that the Leonard-to-Toronto trade has still not been finalized. The league penalties, along with the suspensions handed to key people in the front office, are being cited as the reason for the delay, leaving the Clippers with one more unresolved piece in a story that has already put an ugly spotlight on how the deal was handled. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Give A Familiar G League Path Another Look
The Hawks latest roster shuffle comes with the kind of back-end familiarity that often shows up this time of year. They signed forward Keyshawn Bryant and waived guard Devon Higgs, according to a team press release, adding another player with G League mileage as the club continues sorting out its camp group.
Bryant brings three seasons of NBA G League experience and has bounced around multiple teams, while Higgs has spent most of his pro career in the G League since going undrafted in 2023. For the Clippers, whose organization has long leaned on that developmental pipeline, it is another reminder of how quickly familiar names can circle back into the picture even when the roster math is already tight. [Read more 🡒]