Steve Ballmer's Epic Fumble of Clippers Investigation Highlighted in Latest Report

A week after the NBA handed down a historically harsh penalty to the Los Angeles Clippers in the cap circumvention investigation, more details about what went down behind the scenes are rising to the surface. Pablo Torre, who was vindicated in his reporting, revealed new information about how the Clippers handled the investigation. And it makes Clippers owner Steve Ballmer look even worse than he already did.

In the latest episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, the investigative journalist discussed how the league and the Clippers were trying to negotiate regarding the punishment. According to Torre, "the NBA was looking forward to settling," but Ballmer was "fundamentally uninterested."

Steve Ballmer Brought the NBA's Punishment Upon Himself

It was reported over a month ago that the private law firm investigating the allegations had largely concluded its work, and it was up to the league to decide on the punishment. The expectation was that the Clippers and the NBA would negotiate a deal to prevent the worst outcome possible. Torre confirmed on Wednesday that Ballmer was told about the evidence the league had on them.

But the Clippers owner continued to plead the organization's innocence. Per Torre, the Clippers tried to "tell a version of events that is not what is reflected in the reality of this report," including the now-refuted ESPN story about how the league didn't find any evidence of funneling funds from Ballmer to Leonard.

In reality, the direct funneling of funds was just a small portion of what the Clippers were accused of doing. The organization denied all allegations despite the mounting information containing plenty of smoking guns. Reportedly, this was a big factor in why the NBA wanted to release the full report of findings rather than just the executive summary.

By refusing to settle, the Clippers took on the NBA and Adam Silver. Torre now describes the relationship between the sides as an "open fight."

This was clearly avoidable. The league had no interest in punishing its wealthiest owner. It also had all the incentive in the world to get a deal done.

Ballmer's arrogance, however, was in direct conflict with the Clippers' interests. Multibillionaires like Ballmer are used to crushing their opponents in such settlements. They are also used to acting with impunity and getting away with it. Of course, he thought that he could fight these allegations.

But he couldn't. Instead, he hurt the Clippers organization, players, and fans and was handed down the harshest punishment in NBA history, severely damaging the team's reputation and future outlook.

The worst is that he still hasn't owned up to it. He hasn't admitted his mistake or apologized. Clippers fans have every right to be angry at Ballmer, and their anger will likely last for a long time.

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