NBA news: Ty Lawson sends message to Pablo Torre after Clippers punishment appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The NBA handed down stiff sanctions to the Los Angeles Clippers after ruling that the team circumvented the salary cap through questionable deals involving Kawhi Leonard and a now-defunct sustainability company.
The Clippers were fined $30 million and forced to forfeit five first-round draft picks from 2029 to 2033. Owner Steve Ballmer was suspended for one year, along with president of business operations Gillian Zucker. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, meanwhile, was banned for six months.
Kawhi Leonard was not suspended, but was fined $700,000.
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Sports journalist Pablo Torre was the first to dig into the Clippers’ illicit moves. But when a report from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne claimed that the NBA found no evidence of the financial transgressions, Torre was blasted by former NBA player Ty Lawson. He said Torre tried to “ruin people’s lives.”
Following the NBA’s harsh penalties on the Clippers, Lawson acknowledged his mistake.
“I definitely got to apologize. He was right. Tell ESPN to apologize,” said Lawson in his livestream.
“They’ll (Clippers) definitely be on my a**, man. But I can admit when I’m wrong. Some people run away from it.”
The pablo stans were sliding for Pablo. I owned up to it 🙃🙃 https://t.co/BesKE4RxYQ
— Ty Lawson (@TyLawson3) September 2, 2026
The 38-year-old Lawson publicly questioned whether the 40-year-old Torre, who used to work for ESPN, should face consequences, fines, or lawsuits. But the veteran journalist stood by his investigation. Now, he was proven right.
The NBA investigated the controversy for almost a year.
Lawson played eight years in the NBA, suiting up for the Denver Nuggets, the Houston Rockets, the Indiana Pacers, and the Sacramento Kings.
Leonard, meanwhile, said he is fully responsible for his “lapses in judgment.” He is now set to join the Toronto Raptors, who traded for him in June.
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