PTI - NBA Punishes Kawhi Leonard, Steve Ballmer, and the Clippers After Salary Cap Investigation

Episode Date: September 2, 2026

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss NBA’s Punishment against the Clippers, Lincoln Riley calling out USC fans and MORE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination-style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to Burden of Proof, Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon. I am thrilled. many of you still choose to watch us every day.

And Tony Kornheiser. We're on ESPN 2. I'm only seeing about six people out there, Mike. That's all. What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing on there?

What do you mean what am I wearing? I'm wearing a tie like I wear every single day. You're the one who has abandoned ties in the last year or so. You've stopped doing that. I'm wearing a jacket and a tie. Seven years. And people notice it. People notice it. They want you to dress like an adult. Welcome to PTI boys and girls.

In today's episode, Lincoln Riley defends USC's attendance. Mike Trout is excited for the Angels, and the Raiders decide whether Fernando Mendoza will start their opener. But we begin today with the NBA's punishment of the clippers for circumventing the salary cap to get more money to Kawhi Leonard. The NBA has found that the team played an active role in the violations first detailed by Pablo Torre, and so has stripped the franchise of five first-round draft picks, fined $30 million, suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year,

suspended general manager Lawrence Frank for six months, banned Uncle Dennis from conducting business with NBA teams for five years and fined Kauai Leonard $700,000. Will Bonn, what do you make all this? Well, Tony, first of all, you know I didn't think anything like this was going to happen, particularly to Steve Balmer, and I'll get back to that. I know. Really nothing happened to Kauai Leonard.

$700,000 payback. Contracts still going on. Doesn't miss any games. But Tony, it doesn't matter what happens to Lawrence Frank. Doesn't matter what happens to Kauai because nothing's happening to Kauai. Doesn't matter what happens to Uncle Dennis. Steve Balmer's suspension is a big deal. That's what I didn't think would happen.

Two things are a big deal. Five first round draft picks, which when David Stern did this to the Timberwolf some years ago, like 25 plus years ago, was seen as a quote. death penalty, five first-round draft picks, extremely limits what you can do to improve, build-out, maintain your roster in a Southern California climate where you've got to deal with the competition of the Lakers.

That's an outch. And perhaps more importantly, Tony, Steve Balmer is so essential to the league's big business initiatives. And by big, I mean domestic and international expansion, that that is why largely I did not see the richest owner in the NBA, as you know,

getting any big hit. It's not what I thought they would find is that I thought they could find anything and they wouldn't do anything about it. So it's a surprise to me and it's a big hit. Yeah, yeah. I'll just remind everybody one more time that you went on this show a million times

and you said they're not going to touch Steve Ballmer. It's too important. That's right. And I understood why you said at that time. Well, they touched him. Okay, he's doing a stand in eight in the corner right now. He's done right now. And I'll just dismiss the clippers right away. You go to the Clippers to play there now this year, next year. You're going into exile.

Nobody's going to want to go play there. They're done as a franchise in the immediate future. I am surprised, obviously, by Steve Ballmer. This happened to Steve Ballmer, because two weeks ago, there was an ESPN report that was all over this network that the league found nothing, found nothing tying. It was a sourced story. You know, it didn't come from anybody official was sourced, that they didn't find anything tying Steve Ballmer to anything wrong. Okay, they must have found something because he's sitting out and he's fined a lot of money. I agree with you. Kauai Leonard, this is nothing.

$700,000 to Kauai Leonard is change in the sofa in one of his many living rooms. I'm stunned that he wasn't suspended at all. You're asking me to believe he didn't know that he was circumventing the rules of the league at all? In all this period of time, he had no idea. So I really thought there would be game suspensions there. I'm very surprised by that. I'm surprised by the severity of it with the clippers. In the same way that you're surprised, this is a wow.

I mean, I think you can look at Adam Silver and you can say, oh, he came up to the plate here. He hit this one out, not against the players. You can still say he is a players commissioner because Kauai Leonard got nothing. But an owner, a big-time owner, yeah, I think this is a very significant thing. And one of the big winners here is our friend Pablo Tori, who's been on this thing from the beginning. And it's right.

And Tony, just real quickly on Kauai, you can make that case, because you can make the case and say, well, Kauai knew what he knew, but doesn't matter as much. Because the league's rules are with the teams, meaning the owner, not the player in the same way.

So, you know, hitting Kauai is one thing, and he could have done that, I guess, that would have been pushed back. And he didn't. But hitting Balmer, Tony, Balmer, even though his team is not the Celtics or the Lakers or, you know, bomber's an important dude to the NBA. And again, to his big business initiatives.

And wow. Meanwhile, we will now move to Lincoln Riley, staying in Southern California, calling reports of dismal attendance at USC's home opener a false narrative. The reported attendance for the win over San Jose State was about $51,000. though USA Today estimated it is closer to 20,000. I don't know about that. The game was at noon. The temperature was close to 100,

but USA Today says the same conditions existed in 2009, and yet 84,000 fans turned out anyway, Tone. Do you see attendance concerns at USC as a false narrative? I don't know what that means, false narrative. There was nobody in the building. As you said, the heat index was over 100 that day. They're playing San Jose State. cares. I mean, they're not going to beat USC. You know, it's in August. It's not really football

season. USC ends up winning, like, 42 to 26. I don't understand the big deal unless it's a big deal to Lincoln Riley. Okay? Lincoln Riley got there a few years back amid great expectations and great publicity, and he hasn't really delivered. He's never been in the college playoffs, if I recall correctly. He's had a lot of offense. He's had no defense. You know, and maybe people around USC are saying, did we get the right guy? Because Mike, you are old enough and I am old enough to remember when USC was an extremely important job in college football, as was UCLA, for example. That was a big deal. It's not anymore. And if you go to USC, you're going to be compared to John McKay, right? You're going to be compared to John Robinson. You're going to be compared

to Pete Carroll. And at the moment, Lincoln Riley is not approaching any of those people, none. No, Tony. And that's where the story and even the reporting, sorry USA today. I am yes, an old newspaper man. The examination of this is flawed, okay? Lincoln Riley's got one damn job. Put a better product out there and what's going to happen, Tony. People in Southern California, they didn't forget how to find the Memorial Coliseum because it's downtown.

And I was there on Saturday, and it was 100 degrees plus, and Southern Californians were falling out in the street. So here's what Lincoln Riley, his big mistake was commenting on this. He should have gone straight Kurt Signetti or Bob Knight and said, I got a job here to build a football program. You want to go hire a marketing genius

to increase the attendance. Go do that. This whole thing is stupid. He was idiotic for letting himself be drawn into the conversation in the first place. There's 75,000 seats here. About 75,000 seats there. Well, 90.

San Jose State is not, yeah. Well, San Jose State is not going to fill any of those seats. You get a good team out there. UCLA is, you know what, Mike? I think that there's an aftershock with the dissolution of the Pact 12, and these teams going on in the Big Ten and not really know what's going on. UCLA just fired, they fired their AD. But I'll tell you this, if USC is good, if USC is good,

and Ohio State comes to town, you can't get a seat. You can't get it. Now let's go to the sale of the Angels as well. We stay in Southern California yet again. Artie Moreno has agreed to sell the team to stand cronkey for reported $4 billion. The Star Cross Star of the Angels Mike Trout said he's super excited about the change to a team that hasn't finished with a winning record since Hello, 2015. Wilbon, what does the Angels sale do and not do for Mike Trout? Tony, we don't know yet because Mike Trout's 35 years old.

The sale, which doesn't even take effect until the first quarter of 27, so you're moving into sports. training by then. Mike Trout's going to be 36 years old next season. Yeah. How much time does he have left? How much time does he have as a good player? He's only a mediocre player now. Mike Trout's a run-of-the-mill outfielder, 20 home runs, 50-some ribbies at this point,

hitting 230. That's right. Mike Trout's not what Mike Trout was. And so I feel bad about this. I know you do because we like watching the real Mike Trout for all those years. And Tone, there's nothing for him. He could get, now he can say, I'm going to wait. There's no trace clause.

He ain't Bradley Beal. He can weigh. that clause and wind up on the Yankees or wind up in his hometown of Philly and salvage something, maybe get to the playoffs. This is not a first. I grew up with guys named Banks and Williams and Bucketons and Sayers who were afraid he never went to any playoffs. This is not unprecedented. Right. This is the comparison from the old days. It's Ernie Banks because Mike Trout has no October. And Ernie Banks had no October. Hall of Fame player, no October. If I'm Mike Trout, I'm happy about this.

I got a chance now, but I would be more worried about my physical condition than who owned the team. I understand you might like cronky because every team he buys seems to win in every single sport. Mike, I have always been surprised

that Mike Trout stayed with the Angels all this time. He's from Vineland, New Jersey, and South Jersey. I thought he'd be at the Phillies. When they got Bryce Harper, I thought Trout was next. I've never understood

why he never left there. And I'm going to give you a comparison here to a modern-day player, and that is Freddie Freeman. Freddie Freeman's a great player. He is going to go to the Hall of Fame. But he's got an October every year with the Braves, every year with the Dodgers,

year after year after year. Yeah. We see him go deep in the playoffs, and we realize what a great player he is. We don't see that with Mike Trout. And Freddie Freeman's a great player. He ain't Mike Trout, not at their peaks. Mike Trout is like an all-time guy,

and it's never happened in October. It could be over. Why do we think Trout can get that back? We hope he can, you and I. Hope so. Hope so. No. You're right.

You're right. Let's take a break. Coming up, Jackson Pover, has been a pro for three months, but just made the President's Cup team. What's the word for that? How best to describe what should have been a pitcher's duel between Logan Webb. Mysteries unravel and stunning truths are revealed when 2020 investigates. Follow the clues, the evidence, the evidence. breaking new details.

ABC's 2020 means true murder mystery. Shocking. If you follow true crime in 2020, then you've got to listen to this. Subscribe now to 2020 True Crime Plus. Add free exclusive true crime content. Search 2020 True Crime Plus on Apple Podcasts and start for free trial. Terms apply. This honorary doctor of humane letters is ready to spin those letters into glorious words.

What's first? It's blank that Jackson Coyvin made the President's Cup team. It's exciting. That's my word. A year ago, this kid was playing for Auburn. He didn't turn pro until a few months ago in June. Then he won the 3M in Minnesota. Remember that, Mike? And everybody said what a great prospect he was.

He's 21 years old. He's the youngest guy out there for the United States team. Look, if this was the Rider Cup, I don't think he would have been named to the team. The Rider Cup is a much. bigger deal than the President's Cup, but I'm glad Snedeker has named him. I think that's really good. I'm glad Goderup's on a team. I'm glad Bridgman is on a team.

These guys are all under 30 years old. Conmore Cowah is 29 years old. Who else is 29? Cam Young is 29. Scotty Sheffler is only 30. This is a young American team in an international competition and I think he'll be fun to watch.

I know you're going to be there, right? Well, Tony, you know, excited is what I am. You know how excited I was. I had to get you off the golf course to pay attention to this kid. And you said, wait a minute. Wasn't he in college a year ago? And I'm like, yes, we should have called Charles Barkley immediately because you know that Charles knows all about this kid going to Albert.

I don't know if there was any cap circumvention going on. I don't think they have that in golf. Sorry, Chuck. But we know this kid was great in college. It's forward thinking. And yes, Snetterka, who I like tremendously, is a progressive thing. forward-thinking, modern captain. That's who he is.

I'm excited about the team. This thing is in Chicago at Medina. I'm thrilled about it, and I'm thrilled at Coyvin. Who, Tony, you can look out and you can see, okay, this kid can be representing the United States for a long time. Forward thinking. So there's another part to this, too.

He can go, you can pair him with Justin Thomas. Justin Thomas is an SEC kid as well. He went to Alabama. I mean, there's a bunch of guys on this team that played in the SEC, I'm sure. But if you play with Justin Thomas, you have a good pairing then. What's next? Yesterday's pitching showdown between Logan Webb and Paul Skeens was Black. It was brutal.

That's my word brutal. These are perennial all-star pitchers, right? I mean, Skeens was a Cy Young Award winner last year. So let me get the numbers right. Webb allows nine earned runs on nine hits. in two innings. Schemeans allows five earned runs on eight hits in four and two-thirds innings. The final score is 13 to 12. They're long gone before then. This is the kind of game, Mike. When you see it earlier in the week, you say to yourself, I want to buy a ticket to that game.

I want to see Webb and I want to see schemes. This is going to be great pitchers' tool. But if you arrived halfway through the game, top five, they're both out. You know, here are some other numbers. This year, Webb, eight and eight this year, a four-to-one ERA. Skeens 9 and 11, a 3-970 RA. Maybe it's just a bad year for both of them. Maybe it's nothing serious, but Skeens has lost velocity off his fastball. Maybe something's wrong with their arms.

Tony, I know you think my word is going to be junk, and it could have been. It could have been little leagueish, and it could have been that too. But, Tony, this makes me sad, because, and my word will be hyphenated. It's mid-21st century baseball. This is what we got.

You can't get a pitcher do. You can't predict one. If you get one, you just, you fall to your knees thinking, oh, my God, I've seen real baseball return like a minute and a half. But instead, you get this. Come on, man, skeins and web, you think you're going to see something special. Instead, you wind up seeing two dudes give up like, what, 14 earned in a minute and a half, but this is it, Tom. And because these kids, because these kids, when they're flame throwers at 12 and 13, and they don't teach them to pitch.

They just teach them to throw and just give as much torque as you can on every pitch. Those people have killed baseball. They've killed it. Well, this is why I know how much you love Mizorowski. This would be my fear for him as well. Me too. My fear too.

That's the final word. Let's take one last break still to come. The Raiders decide whether Fernando Mendoza will be there starting quarterback. While the Falcons remain on the fence between Pinnocks and Tua. Ron Darling called the Cubs either last night or night before. It's so great to listen to a real pitcher. Listen to Ron Darling, it was last night the Cubs lost.

I should have been mad. Are you going to carry a board at Medina? You're going to follow them around. You say minus two or plus one. You should do that. I'm going to carry the board. How about that? Real Canadian Superstore has everything you need this.

Save on lunchbox savers like Ziggy's sliced deli meat products for always 375 and get life brand pure Vita shampoo or conditioner for $8 each at real Canadian Superstore when you're ready we're ready with a whole world and more Happy time people happy 78th birthday Nate Archibald best known as Tiny Archibald played 13 years in the NBA after coming out of Texas El Paso in 1970 He played for four different teams but the bulk of his time was spent with the Royals franchises in Cincinnati and Kansas City, Omaha, and with the Celtics. Archibald led the league in both assists and scoring in 1973 with KC. Omaha. He averaged 11.4 assists and 34 points per game. He's the only NBA player to ever do that in the same year.

Archibald was all NBA five times and was on the Celtics' 1981 championship team. Why tiny? How about 6-1-150? 150. Tony, people now don't even think about tiny Archibald. and Larry Bird being teammates. How about that? You didn't think they couldn't play in any era

and light you up? They would. Yeah, yeah. He's a great player. Great fun to watch. Happy anniversary, Mike Greenwell. This is posthumous. But on this day, 30 years ago,

the Red Sox left fielder drove in nine runs against Seattle in the Kingdom. Those were all nine runs the Red Sox scored that day in their nine to eight, ten-inning victory. And this still stands as the men. major league record for most runs driven in by one player that account for all of the team's runs in a single game. Batting eighth in the lineup, Greenwell went four for five. He hit a two-run homer, a grand slam, a two-run double, and Boston's game-winning single in the 10th inning. Greenwell

played all 12 of his major league seasons with the Red Sox, and he is in the team's Hall of Fame. Man, he could slap it to all fields, too, and it's so sad and unfortunate to have lost Mr. Greenwell to thyroid cancer just about a year ago, talking. All nine runs. Nine runs in the same game, and that's all the team got. Amazing. Happy trails to the Raiders starting job for Fernando Mendoza.

Raiders head coach Clint Kubiak today made it official, giving the gig to the veteran Kirk Cousins. Mendoza becomes the first quarterback pick number one overall not to start his opener since Baker Mayfield in 2018. So Mendoza will watch and learn, where is Kyler Murray and Joe Burr. Burrow and Trevor Lawrence, Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, and Cam Ward were thrown right into the fire.

Mendoza went 25 of 45 for 240 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the preseason. Why bring in Kirk Cousins, if you're not gonna play him now, at the beginning of this process, you don't need to rush the rook out there. That's why you got Couss. Fanga, the Raiders who used to do some bonehead things

seem to me, Tony, to be making the absolute right decision here. I don't understand how anyone could think this was the wrong decision. That's why you brought this guy in. That's right. He's a really good quarterback. Come on now. One update.

Sham Sharaniah reports that the Clippers have released a statement saying they vehemently reject the NBA's findings. That what the league told them privately differs from what it has announced publicly and that the team intends to vigorously challenge the punishments. What do you say to that, Mike?

Oh, Tony, this sounds like a fight. The Clippers are not just sort of taking this where Ropa Doper rolling over. Sounds like they're coming back after the leak. I don't know what the provisions are, but, man, this seems like it's going to be feisty over the next few days and weeks. Yeah, not going to surprise me at all

if a bunch of owners get together with Steve Ballmer and say, let's think this through first. How far do you want to go in this? I think that wouldn't surprise me. Let's go to the big finish. Let's do it. The captain's key. I mean Cunningham says the team has yet to decide.

between Michael Pennix Jr. and Tua as their starting quarterback. Who would you go with, Michael? Tua, but it doesn't matter. They're both going to play, and somebody's going to get on the bench in two or three weeks. You know that's coming. Rookie Sal Stewart of the Res leads the majors with 105 runs better than your thoughts. I think it's great. I'm unfamiliar with most of his work. He'd be the first rookie to lead the majors in RBI since Walt Dropo in 1950. Wow. 50. That's a long down go. Stay with Monaco over Everton.

Are you surprised by this? So Balagan, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, they all have the same deadlines for acquisitions, trades, whatever. Seems like he's going to be there. One seed, Alexander Zverev, needed five sets and five hours to win his first round U.S. Open match. Ain't that the kiss of death going forward? No.

No, he publicly said he was grateful for it. He needed the work. It's not the kiss of death. Last one, Brewers Cubs. Game 3 or 40 night. Who you got is, if I don't know. We got to face Mizoroski tonight. You think I'm going to talk trash before going out against him?

Don't be silly. You think you're going to win, though, don't you? We're out of time. Try to do better the next time. I'm Tony Kornhizer. I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, knuckleheads. And now, you're...