Pablo Torre was back at it on Wednesday night, uncovering more details that may or may not be part of the NBA’s investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Of course, with the Toronto Raptors’ pending deal to acquire Leonard, every detail has become increasingly important this side of the border. Promising some juicy new information pertaining to the investigation in the latest Pablo Torre Finds Out episode, Torre’s most recent podcast didn’t quite live up to the hype.
Rhode Island’s local news outlet WPRI also produced its own two-part investigative report on the matter, which didn’t add anything new to what Torre revealed on his show.
Here’s what you need to know:
What did PTFO discover this time?
Torre, alongside Amin Elhassan and David Samson, revealed that Kawhi Leonard, his uncle Dennis Robertson, and his former agent Mitch Frankel acquired minority ownership stakes in Rhode Island FC (RIFC).
KL2 RIFC LLC and KL2 RIFC REAL ESTATE LLC were created on Jan. 2, 2024, and both are currently active. DRR RIFC LCC (which suggests the initials of Dennis R. Robertson) was also created. Leonard signed a three-year, $152.4-million extension with the Clippers on Jan. 10, 2024.
Leonard has never promoted Rhode Island FC in any way, nor has RIFC advertised Leonard’s association with the team, which is strange for a small team that would be looking to generate as much attention as possible. Former NBA big man Daniel Theis, for example, was confirmed as an investor in the summer of 2023 after signing with the Clippers, and Rhode Island FC’s social channels promoted that bit of news.
Details emerged of the club’s 2019 stadium project, which pitched addressing the housing crisis in Pawtucket as part of a bigger plan to revitalize the area in order to gain public backing. After the pandemic sent construction costs skyrocketing, the portion of public funds that was supposed to be allocated to housing was diverted to the stadium.
Rhode Island FC founder Brett Johnson of ‘Fortuitous Partners’ claims that Leonard, Robertson, and Frankel were motivated to help address the housing crisis in Rhode Island and invested accordingly. However, their investment was made in 2024, well after the public housing money was re-allocated. The episode ends with confirmation that zero houses have been built by Johnson’s investment group to this point.
Is this relevant to the cap circumvention investigation?
As a starting point, we have seen past reports that Leonard’s representatives (Robertson and Frankel) actively pursued some type of ownership stake in a sports team as part of a side deal to sign in free agency with any of the Clippers, Lakers, or Raptors back in 2019.
In their pitch to the Raptors, Leonard’s team is believed to have asked for an ownership stake in the Maple Leafs.
The Athletic recently reported that the NBA is investigating a second Leonard sponsorship deal as part of its Aspiration probe, and Torre tried to connect the dots between the initial investigation and Leonard’s involvement with Rhode Island FC.
While these are interesting points that raise suspicion, at no point did Torre make a concrete case that the Clippers had a hand in Leonard’s RIFC equity agreement. Torre noted that Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, who cast a tie-breaking vote that approved the bailout for the increased stadium costs, attended a Clippers home game on Oct. 24, 2025 alongside Johnson. That’s as close as he got after 10 months of investigating.
As easy and compelling as it might be to fill in the blanks, that’s not what the Wachtell Lipton law firm, nor Adam Silver and the NBA, are trying to do. They are looking for hard proof of cap circumvention.
A crucial piece of information, for me, emerged in the second part of WPRI’s report, which revealed the identity of the biggest mystery backer of the project when it was on thin ice: a man by the name of W. Whitney George, CEO of Toronto-based investment firm Sprott Inc. If this project had been saved by Steve Ballmer or Dennis Wong or someone else with ties with the Clippers, then I’d say Torre might be onto something.
All this looks like right now is Robertson and Frankel making bad investment choices.
Torre has done some really good work over a long period with regards to this investigation, which he triggered in the first place by uncovering some very pertinent information. However, this specific line of inquiry seems to have some pretty weak legs when attempting to tie it to the cap circumvention being investigated.
Holmes’ ESPN report on the investigation
Moving on from PTFO, there was more news from esteemed ESPN journalist Baxter Holmes.
Holmes confirmed that the investigation could drag well into 2027 if the parties involved don’t agree on the findings or any proposed settlement that involves punishing the team and/or player.
In that case, a neutral arbitrator would have to be jointly appointed by the NBA and NBPA. After a hearing, the arbitrator’s ruling would be subject to an appeals panel made up of three people – also jointly appointed by the NBA and NBPA. Their decision would be binding, and would determine whether Silver can actually dole out punishment.
The players’ union is believed to be ready to take the matter to arbitration if the league seeks to penalize Leonard without sufficient evidence proving wrongdoing.
As a reminder, punishments can include team fines up to $7.5 million, draft-pick forfeiture, voiding of the player’s contract, and suspensions of up to one year for any team personnel involved.
Bulletproof evidence or full agreement on the findings and proposed settlement are the two paths to a faster conclusion. NBPA executive director David Kelly stated in the ESPN report that none of what he’s seen thus far from Wachtell Lipton’s findings is worthy of punishment, but we have no idea what he’s actually seen.
There is a growing belief now, with reporting that the investigation is in fact over and the league is sifting through its findings, that the main delay will now stem from avoiding arbitration and trying to find a punishment the biggest domino Ballmer will accept. At the end of the day, this is the richest owner in the league and the estimated third-richest owner in all of sports, and Silver will want to maintain that relationship.
Preseason awkwardness ahead?
Amid all this, the Raptors confirmed their preseason schedule, which includes an Oct. 10 tilt against the Clippers in Vancouver. The idea that Leonard could still be in a Clippers jersey while Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick represent Toronto is ridiculous.
Bobby Webster’s patience is certainly being tested. Like Adam Silver, though, he’ll do well to ignore the public noise and hopefully maintain the same confidence that the deal will be finalized as he was when he pursued it in the first place.
I think the only way the Raptors can back out of the deal at this stage is if Leonard’s contract is voided. Even if he’s suspended for a significant period, I imagine the preference would be to complete the deal while withdrawing some of the initially agreed-upon draft compensation. I’m also left to wonder if there’s a point at which Webster just goes ahead and pulls the trigger.
The Raptors can’t genuinely be contenders with Leonard this season if he’s only brought into the fold in 2027. They need Leonard to be at training camp, working with the team and coaching staff. Would Webster take the chance of completing the deal if there’s still no decision by then?
The downside is potentially massive. Giving up Ingram, Dick, and draft compensation only to see Leonard’s contract voided in 2027 would almost certainly put Webster’s job in jeopardy.
Why did he put himself in this position?
Raptors love distressed assets and Kawhi is worth it. Bobby needs to bring Kawhi home and let Balmer’s lawyers and NBAPA deal with this final punishment.