New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden were both named as possible candidates for an investigation by Pablo Torre after his bombshell story on Kawhi Leonard
19:00 ET, 05 Sep 2025Updated 19:00 ET, 05 Sep 2025
James Harden and Kawhi Leonard have been teammates on the Clippers since 2023(Image: Getty Images)
Pablo Torre has alleged that Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was paid $28 million by a tree-planting shell company Aspiration while under contract with the team, raising suspicion that the endorsement deal was used as a sweetener to keep him in Los Angeles.
Leonard is on a max-contract, as is New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson. However, the guard signed a cut-rate four-year, $156.6 million deal in 2024, a year before he would have been eligible to ink a five-year, $270 million one.
This allowed New York to trade for star Karl Anthony-Towns later that offseason, a move that helped New York reach the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. Torre admitted on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ that he may look into exploring Brunson’s deal, as well as fellow Clipper James Harden’s, in future investigations.
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“My tipline has never been more used by enemies of Jalen Brunson, like [people saying] ‘look into that one,'” he said. “As well as James Harden.”
When Patrick asked if there was “something there” with Brunson, Torre didn’t mince his words. “Look, how he arrived at the Knicks, I have to defer to the reporting I may or may not do on this. Certainly was interesting, right? That’s a pretty good deal for the Knicks..”
The Knicks were dinged a second-round pick when they inked Brunson to a four-year, $96 million contract in 2022 free agency. “This outcome reflected a finding, following an investigation, that the Knicks engaged in free agency discussions involving Jalen Brunson prior to the date when such discussions were permitted,” the NBA said of the report.
Jalen Brunson and Rick Brunson spent the last few years with the Knicks(Image: Getty Images)
Brunson’s lines with New York run deep. Knicks GM Leon Rose’s first client during his days as an agent was Rick Brunson, Jalen’s father. Jalen’s deal also coincided with Rick, now a coach on New York’s staff, earning a promotion.
Any shady dealings in Harden’s contract seem more unclear. He was traded to the Clippers in 2023, midway through a two-year extension. He signed a new two-year, $70 million deal with the team during the 2024 offseason.
Los Angeles owner Steve Ballmer appeared on ESPN late Thursday night to defend his organization, claiming he was frauded over $50 million.
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“We’d already gone through all this stuff because it was part of document production in their (DOJ and SEC) investigations,” Ballmer said.
“We even found the e-mail that makes the first introduction. It was early November. I don’t remember the exact date. So, where could any of this circumvention have happened? It didn’t. It couldn’t have.”