Done deal: The LA Clippers and Raptors have both agreed to complete the trade sending Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, one first-round pick swap and two second-rounders, per ESPN sources. The sides will now schedule a trade call.

N3on: “Who is the most overrated team in the NBA?” Norman Powell: “The Lakers”

Glen Davis talks about Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan not getting along with each other when they played for the Clippers. ⸻ #GlenDavis #ChrisPaul #BlakeGriffin #DeAndreJordan #TFUPodcast

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Clippers over the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap scandal, and the first thing to understand is why the federal government is involved at all. Breaking the salary cap isn't a crime. There's no law against violating the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, and if all the Clippers did was skirt a league rule, this would begin and end with the punishment the NBA already handed down, the $30 million fine and five first-round picks. The DOJ doesn't prosecute broken sports rules, it prosecutes fraud. The federal hook is the money and how it moved. Leonard reportedly got a $28 million endorsement deal from Aspiration, a company Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million in, for what former employees described as a no-show job that existed to funnel him cap-free cash. That company has since collapsed, and its co-founder already pleaded guilty to a $248 million fraud. If prosecutors can show that money was knowingly disguised, labeled as a marketing deal when it was really compensation, moved across state lines, or misreported for taxes, then it stops being a cap issue and becomes wire fraud or tax fraud, which are actual federal crimes. The whole case comes down to one word, and that word is "knowingly." Ballmer's entire defense is that he owned less than three percent of Aspiration, had no board seat, no control, and simply introduced a sponsor to a player, which the rules allow. For this to lead anywhere, prosecutors have to prove that specific people knew they were disguising payments and did it on purpose, which is a much higher bar than proving the deal looked suspicious. An investigation opening means subpoenas and document review, not charges. It's a long way from a subpoena to an indictment, and the entire distance is whether the government can prove intent.

The Clippers Might Bring Down the Whole NBA "If the Clippers flip and say, Oh really? You're going to do this to us? They're going to indirectly drop stories on three, five, or ten other organizations that have done this with different players." "If this goes through and results in public humiliation like this for the Clippers, you could have a few other teams in the next 6, 12, or 24 months dealing with a similar story."

If I ignore you, that means I view you as a bonafide clown. And the same energy you use to continue to hate, only further makes you look like exactly what you are. A bum and a clown. Carry on..