Local Hour: Pablo Torre Found Out

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Episode: Local Hour: Pablo Torre Found Out
Date: September 3, 2025
Location: Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami

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Overview

This episode brings the Le Batard team together for their signature blend of South Florida sports talk, irreverent humor, and deep dives into the headlines. The centerpiece is Pablo Torre’s blockbuster investigative story—dropped at 5am—uncovering how the LA Clippers allegedly circumvented NBA salary cap rules through a $28M “no-show” job for Kawhi Leonard, involving a fake tree-planting endorsement. The crew also covers the Dolphins’ upcoming “must-win” game, Miami sports expectations, and a lighthearted exploration of coffee economics and voice modulator hijinks.

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Key Discussion Points and Segments

1. Football Frenzy & Local Hype

[03:02 – 09:00]

• The show opens with a tongue-in-cheek “Football! Football!” chant, poking fun at American football fan rituals.
• Greg Cody and Billy argue the Dolphins have a “must-win” season opener against the Colts.
  • Greg’s logic: Dolphins expectations are low; losing to a weak team like the Colts would deflate fan enthusiasm and sabotage the season from the start.
  • Pablo pushes back, noting all NFL games carry the same weight.
  • The group debates the value and meaning of “must-win” in Week 1 (lots of classic rapid-fire banter).
  • Quote:

    “It seems a truly asinine thing to say…”
    —Dan Le Batard (04:12)

• Miami sports fans’ anxieties and expectations are aired, particularly around Tua and the Dolphins’ season trajectory.
• A lively, somewhat confused breakdown of betting lines, home-field advantage, and who’s really favored (Colts or Dolphins).

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2. Tyreek Hill: Captain or Not?

[09:00 – 12:30]

• Debate over Tyreek Hill’s absence as a team captain.
  • Greg Cody points out the significance: “Players themselves demoted Tyreek Hill because they were fed up with him...”
  • Others speculate it was Tyreek’s decision as a show of “true leadership.”
  • The crew launches a facetious poll about Dolphins locker room election integrity and Mike McDaniel’s influence.
  • Meme-worthy moment: Discussions spiral into NFL Man of the Year Award satire.
    • Quote:

      “Some people have also said Walter Payton Man of the Year is really the most important trophy. Not the Lombardi.”
      —Pablo Torre (11:53)

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3. Coffee Economics & Miami Quirks

[13:00 – 15:08]

• Complaints about rising coffee prices and whether “everyone loves coffee.”
  • Polls are suggested to see if listeners notice the price hike.
  • Pablo highlights the “explosion” of Cuban coffee brick prices, sparking a relatable and amusing Miami-specific gripe session.

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4. Pablo Torre's Blockbuster NBA Salary Cap Investigation

[18:53 – 45:04]

The Pablo Torre Drop (Main Segment)

[18:53 – 22:38]

• Dan sets the stage: Pablo’s first collaborative effort with The Athletic and Meadowlark is a massive story—months in the making—centered on the LA Clippers, Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard, and an alleged $28M salary cap circumvention using a fake marketing deal.
  • The team discusses the credibility and weight of Pablo’s reporting, with initial skepticism turning to awe:
    • Quote:

      “I’ll admit I was skeptical… then I see it this morning and it’s a pretty big thing. I think there’s gonna be a lot of trouble with this story…”
      —Zaslow (20:38)

• Speculation on league punishment: Fines, suspensions, or even forced retention of expensive contracts as “punishment.”
  • Quote:

    “The punishment should be: they have to keep Kawhi Leonard.”
    —Zaslow (21:51)

Key Clip from “Pablo Torre Finds Out”

[24:16 – 25:49]

• Pablo interviews a voice-modulated source:
  • The “no-show” job for Kawhi via Aspiration is confirmed as a deliberate salary cap circumvention:

    “A $28 million organic marketing sponsorship deal...to circumvent the salary cap. LOL.”
    —Anonymous Source (24:34)

  • No tangible marketing work was ever seen:

    “The single largest payment...has completely evaded all press. He didn’t have to do anything.”
    —Anonymous Source (25:17)

  • Pablo labels it what it is:

    “Kawhi Leonard got from Aspiration a $28 million no-show job.” (25:31)

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Crew Reacts: Ethics, Corporate Complicity, & Media Landscape

[25:49 – 29:00]

• Dan discusses the importance and rarity of thorough sports investigative journalism amidst budget cuts and corporatization.
• Acknowledges how Pablo and Meadowlark fill the void left by programs like ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
  • Quote:

    “No one else is doing this in the podcast form in sports.”
    —Dan Le Batard (23:09)

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Voice Modulator Hijinks

[29:23 – 36:35]

• The team hilariously tests their in-studio voice modulator technology, with Greg Cody and Stugotz impersonating disguised whistleblowers.
• Playful jabs about Greg’s famed decades-old column proposing a Dan Marino trade, and the difficulties of finding old footage (“Pablo would have found it.”).
• The segment lampoons investigative tropes from serious journalism.

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Billy’s Mystery Rant (with Voice Modulation)

[36:35 – 38:48]

• “Billy” (anonymized) riffs on the apathy sports fans might feel toward billionaire rule-breaking:

  “Who cares about this story? Who cares about the Clippers? Who cares about Kawhi Leonard? Who cares about replanting trees? Ridiculous.”
  —Anonymous “Mystery Figure,” (38:48)

The Tree-Planting Scam & Broader Repercussions

[38:48 – 44:08]

• Mike, Dan, and the crew marvel at the audacity of the fake tree-planting ruse:
  • Mock the lack of effort to make it remotely believable (no ads, no events, etc.).
  • Discuss the ease of scamming via “tree planting,” with tongue-in-cheek admiration for the scam’s simplicity.
• Dan reflects on how NBA teams once avoided such brazen cap circumvention.
• Mike believes other billionaire owners must be sweating (“there are some other owners that are getting a little nervous,” 41:04).
• Discussion of historic salary cap scandals in sports, cynicism about corporate rule-breaking, and eventual agreement on the impact Pablo’s story could have in the league.

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5. Other Notable Segments & Moments

(Sprinkled Throughout)

• Nostalgic jab at Miami sports: Greg’s Dan Marino-trade column, and the long afterlife of controversial hot takes.
• Running jokes about coffee price inflation, “plain sticks” from Dunkin’ Donuts, and office snack traditions left unfulfilled.
• Light debate about college football rankings and overreactions (FSU’s leap back to the Top 15).

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “It seems a truly asinine thing to say…”
  —Dan Le Batard, on "must-win" Dolphins opener [04:12]

• “Kawhi Leonard got from Aspiration a $28 million no-show job.”
  —Pablo Torre, on the heart of his investigation [25:31]

• “There’s gonna be a lot of trouble with this story…”
  —Zaslow, on the fallout from Pablo’s report [20:38]

• “The punishment should be: they have to keep Kawhi Leonard.”
  —Zaslow, on fitting Clippers’ penalty [21:51]

• “No one else is doing this in the podcast form in sports.”
  —Dan Le Batard, about Meadowlark’s investigative efforts [23:09]

• “Who cares about this story?...Who cares about replanting trees? Ridiculous.”
  —Anonymous “Mystery Figure” (Billy in disguise), on why the scandal might not hit fans hard [38:48]

• “If anything, cheat better. This isn’t even good cheating. You haven’t won shit.”
  —Anonymous “Mystery Figure” [38:32]

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

The episode is classic “Local Hour”—equal parts irreverent, fan-centric, deeply informed, and unafraid to lampoon both themselves and the wider world of sports. Pablo Torre’s reporting brings needed gravity and investigative rigor, but the show’s persistent humor—especially around the NBA’s tree-planting “cover-up,” Dolphins’ tortured optimism, and Miami’s coffee woes—keeps things distinctly Le Batard.

Those who missed the episode will leave understanding:

• The gravity and novelty of Pablo Torre's NBA salary cap exposé.
• Why this story may send shockwaves through sports business, yet trigger only cynical shrugs among some fans.
• How the Le Batard crew balances breaking news, local fandom, and comedy in a uniquely Miami style.

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Transcript

[Mike Ryan]

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[Dan Le Batard]

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[Greg Cody]

Use polls to settle dinner plans.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Greg Cody]

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[Dan Le Batard]

It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail] Olivia loves a challenge. It's why she lifts heavy weights and likes complicated recipes. But for booking her trip to Paris, Olivia chose the easy way with Expedia, she bundled her flight with a hotel to save more. Of course, she still climbed all 674 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower. How you were made to take the easy route. We were made to easily package your trip. Expedia made to travel flight inclusive packages are ator protected.

[Mike Ryan]

Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Ballmer.

[Dan Le Batard]

Come on, get up. Get up. Come on. Come on. Give it up for me. Come on. Who sets it down? I got four words for you. I love this company. Yes.

[Greg Cody]

Football.

[Mike Ryan]

Football.

[Dan Le Batard]

Football.

[Greg Cody]

Football.

[Dan Le Batard]

Football. Football.

[Greg Cody]

Football. Hey, hey.

[Dan Le Batard]

Hello.

[Pablo Torre]

It's me, Pablo, here. To football. That slightly cliched chant that I as an American, I'm contractually obligated to also say football. I. I'm interrupting this because I am gonna join the show, I think, to talk about a new, now not so secret episode of my show and our new partnership with the Athletic that's coming up soon. So finding out. Find out.

[Greg Cody]

Fine. You know, right?

[Pablo Torre]

Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

Football. I have a journalistic judgment question to ask the group. Should we start with Pablo Torre dropping at 5am a Pablo drop that I suspect will be the biggest story in sports once all the editors and writers wake up and start chasing what Pablo is reporting. Or should we talk about how Greg and Billy both think that the Dolphins have a must win game this weekend?

[Mike Ryan]

A must win.

[Dan Le Batard]

A must win. Billy and. And Greg and Big Mac.

[Pablo Torre]

Just so that we're not making it seem like we're two kooks that think.

[Dan Le Batard]

That must win, they have said yes. Week one. It seems an A truly asinine thing to say. You want to explain it to me?

[Greg Cody]

I would love to, yeah. And I say it in the context of how it would seem to be so asinine because I hate it when people use the word must win, when it isn't literally a must win.

[Dan Le Batard]

And it's two words.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. The only time it applies really is a game 7 in the finals or something like that. But I will say this. Expectations are so low for the Dolphins, particularly relative to the Hurricanes. But in general, expectations are low. Not expected to be a playoff team. Indianapolis is not very good. Okay. Indianapolis is a team they can beat. Dare say should beat, even on the road. And so I just think if the Dolphins lose this game Sunday, their whole season sags rapidly right out the gate. I think they need this win in a big way just to entice the fans, just to get the fans a little bit excited, which they're not right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

The Pablo story.

[Pablo Torre]

So he's exactly right. Here's the problem is that some people, Greg and Dan seems to be one of these people, don't seem to understand every game counts exactly the same.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

So if this game was being played week 17, you say that's a big game, that's a must win. They got to win this. But they're playing that game week one. So you got to win the Indianapolis.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

Daniel Jones is their quarterback. If you can't be Daniel Jones, I'm.

[Dan Le Batard]

Scared of Daniel Jones. The Colts overcame the fact that they had a quarterback playing for them who didn't know how to play quarterback, who had started like all of 15 games in college in the pros and would appear to be something of a bust.

[Zaslow]

Yeah. Like, are we forgetting. I understand what you're saying. The Colts, they're not very good. The Dolphins and Colts both won eight games last year.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Zaslow]

Like the Colts are definitely looking at the Dolphins with the exact same mindset. You know, if we don't be that team, you know, our season sunk too. Like it felt, it felt good when they announced Daniel Jones. So it's like nice. Daniel Jones sucks, right? Better than Anthony Richardson.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, arguably.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, he's better than.

[Greg Cody]

No.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you mean arguably? Greg?

[Greg Cody]

Daniel Jones is a bust.

[Pablo Torre]

Uh huh.

[Greg Cody]

Nobody likes Daniel Jones.

[Dan Le Batard]

He won a playoff game. Anthony Richardson started 15 games, made about seven good throws, got hurt a bunch great throws, and doesn't know how to play quarterback because he doesn't have the reps of having played quarterback. Like that's. Daniel Jones knows how to play quarterback. The Colts have to Be at least a three point favorite in the game. Are they not One and a half. One and a half.

[Greg Cody]

Which means the betters think Miami's a slightly better team. If they're going to be beaten, it's going to be by Jonathan Taylor.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not.

[Greg Cody]

Not Daniel Jones.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, no. If the Colts are at home and a one and a half point favorite. I understand what you're saying. That three points go to the home team. But if the Colts are favored, the money is saying that the Colts are going to win the game. They're favored to win the game.

[Greg Cody]

But you know how odds go.

[Dan Le Batard]

I do. But the Dolphins are on the road. This is not a home team. That's. It's not the better team playing at home. That is the Dolphins. This is the better team being the Colts because they're at home.

[Mike Ryan]

In Dan's defense. It's weird for you to hear the line and say, well, that suggests the Dolphins are three points better. I don't understand how that. No, the line suggests that the Colts are one and a half points better.

[Greg Cody]

Well, which means the Dolphins are one and a half points better on a neutral field.

[Pablo Torre]

You guys don't get.

[Mike Ryan]

I get what he's saying though, because usually the team get. The home team gets a minus three and it's a plus one and a half.

[Stugats]

Math.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you.

[Mike Ryan]

There's a math there. One game that gets played in that league on a neutral field and it's the last one.

[Zaslow]

So the Dolphins and Colts are actually London.

[Greg Cody]

Europe.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, Friday. The NFL starts Friday with a game on a neutral.

[Mike Ryan]

Thursday starts Thursday. Then. Tricky league.

[Dan Le Batard]

It starts. It starts tomorrow.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah. Football tomorrow.

[Greg Cody]

You didn't know this?

[Dan Le Batard]

No. I thought.

[Pablo Torre]

Pablo's ass already.

[Greg Cody]

The Brazil game is Friday to Den.

[Zaslow]

Hold on a second. Would tomorrow night have been going on and you wouldn't have been watching?

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, Friday night would have been going on and I wouldn't have been watching. Watching. Because I didn't know until yesterday when it scrolled across on YouTube. I'm like, wait a minute, there's a game Friday night as well. I was not. I was not aware of a couple.

[Zaslow]

High profile teams playing tomorrow night.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, I just.

[Pablo Torre]

World champions.

[Greg Cody]

I heard game.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's. Thank you for kickoff.

[Greg Cody]

Game of the year.

[Dan Le Batard]

Must win, guys.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Greg Cody]

Yes.

[Pablo Torre]

I mean, we're going to take your word for. You didn't even know the season started tomorrow. What do you know?

[Mike Ryan]

How are Dolphin fans going to feel about their season if they lose that game? They're going to feel like it's over. So that's why? It's a.

[Zaslow]

It'll be ugly.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, but wait a minute, though. The Colts fans, how they going to.

[Pablo Torre]

Who cares about Colts fans?

[Dan Le Batard]

They lose that game.

[Pablo Torre]

They're not people.

[Dan Le Batard]

Colts fans are looking at that and saying that the Dolphins are an eminently beatable football team that is ripe for total collapse. I know a big deal was made a few days ago that they didn't mean to make Tyree kill a captain, which was only the easiest and most obvious decision that Mike McDaniel has made since he's been coach of the Dolphins.

[Pablo Torre]

No falsehoods. That was a sign that Tyreek Hill actually is a captain. And we talked about this weeks ago and we said the captains are going to come out. And Tyreek has been someone that, you know, is at odds with his teammates. He's been named a captain for years now. And if he's named a captain, we know he's not a captain because he accepted that role. However, if he's not a captain, it shows he's a true leader. And he says, you know what? I'm going to step down. I'm going to take a step back. And he's really a true captain and a leader on this team by not accepting the label of captain.

[Zaslow]

What the hell are you talking about?

[Greg Cody]

No, he's right.

[Pablo Torre]

It shows growth and leadership. Leadership and maturity.

[Greg Cody]

Okay. It's very important to Note that Mike McDaniel does not pick the captains. It's a team vote. Go on. It's a player vote. I think it's very significant that the players themselves demoted Tyreek Hill because they were fed up with him refusing to go in a game late last season and then making all these uncaptain, like unleadership like moves on social media before finally retracting with his tail between his legs. He, as Tua said, and I give Tua credit for this, on opening day of training camp, Tua comes out and says Tyreek has to earn back the respect of the team. And apparently he hadn't when they voted for captains. I think it's a big deal.

[Mike Ryan]

I'm going to have to side with Billy here.

[Pablo Torre]

Thank you.

[Mike Ryan]

They probably all got gathered in the locker room and Tyreek Hill probably stepped forward and said, guys, I shouldn't be captain. Which is a true captain.

[Greg Cody]

It could be.

[Zaslow]

It could be leadership move nonsense.

[Dan Le Batard]

Good correction there. I thought that Mike McDaniel had made that decision. The players making that decision, that doesn't make any decisions. Fairly honest, isn't it one of those things, though, where all the votes go to Mike McDaniel. So he's sitting in the office counting the votes. I mean, he can kind of say, whoa, whatever.

[Pablo Torre]

Cody finds out, write in ballots. Voter fraud and Dolphins captain election.

[Zaslow]

None stopping them.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll, please. Now players are going up to Tyreek.

[Pablo Torre]

Like, hey, man, I voted for you.

[Mike Ryan]

I don't know what happened.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, and he's saying, I'm a leader. I don't need this, guys. I think for the betterment of the team, you guys be the captains this year.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll, please, at your leisure. At LeBatard show, did the Dolphins players make Tyreek Hill the captain? And did Mike McDaniel then Jerry Rig the vote?

[Pablo Torre]

Well, that's one view. If the correct probably view is that Tyreek Hill said, you know what? For the betterment of the team in the organization, I'm gonna step down. I don't think it's a stretch to say he's laying down the foundation for Walter Payton man of the Year.

[Greg Cody]

I do.

[Dan Le Batard]

I wish you'd let that silent sit, Greg. Why wouldn't you? Really? So you object to Billy's contention that Tyreek Hill might be NFL man of the Year? Important.

[Pablo Torre]

It was important.

[Zaslow]

If he didn't say anything, someone may have thought that Greg agreed.

[Dan Le Batard]

I wanted the silence. If we could have just stared at him for five seconds, it would have.

[Greg Cody]

Been funny for two.

[Dan Le Batard]

You didn't let it sit.

[Zaslow]

Not even close.

[Dan Le Batard]

Not. You didn't.

[Mike Ryan]

Quick clock on that 2.5 is quick.

[Zaslow]

I know you're 2.5 seconds.

[Pablo Torre]

Some people, by the way, have also said Walter Payton man of the Year is really the most important trophy that you can win. Not the Lombardi.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. Laughable.

[Dan Le Batard]

Craig, can you close?

[Greg Cody]

You're trying to just annoy me at this point. The NFL says it's their biggest trophy, which is ridiculous. No offense to Walter Payton.

[Pablo Torre]

Or Tyree Kill potential.

[Mike Ryan]

Rest in peace.

[Greg Cody]

Right, Exactly.

[Pablo Torre]

Or his son, who's a bathroom attendant.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. No, it's crazy, though. Come on.

[Dan Le Batard]

I did not think he was a bathroom attendant. I thought he was. That the kiosk handing out tourist pamphlets. I did not think he was a bathroom attendant. That is not how far in extreme my racism ran. I simply made him the convention center pamphlet handler. Which is also insulting. Your glasses are also fogging.

[Greg Cody]

I know. They're. They're poorly.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's the coffee. I think I. I think poorly. What?

[Greg Cody]

They were fitted wrong for my head. So they sit too close. The Cody eyeball. The Cody knows I'm the Cody nose. Nose. No, they're it's badly designed. I'm not going to say who the, you know, eye doctor is that I go to, because I don't want to.

[Dan Le Batard]

McGillicuddy.

[Greg Cody]

No, no, it's not McGillicuddy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Greg, the coffee. What's happening with the fogging of the glasses is that your coffee's hot and you're fogging your glasses by drinking coffee.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, I love coffee. Coffee. Everybody loves coffee. It's the American drink.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, not everyone.

[Zaslow]

Yeah, some people don't like it.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the Polette LeBatard Show. Does everyone love coffee? I learned something that I did not know when I was in Hawaii, I guess, evidently, that coffee prices have exploded because of the tariff situation. It's one of the things that have happened where we don't have a lot in America of the kind of soil that you need to make some of the best coffee. So you. You can do some of that. You can find some of that in Hawaii. And where else? I guess Puerto Rico might have some climate that you would want for coffee, but we don't make coffee. Well, and America's addicted to coffee. Put it on the poll at Lebatard Show. Does everyone like coffee? Because have you guys seen the coffee prices explode in a way that you're noticing it? The way that people notice that egg prices were exploding? Nah, a little bit.

[Greg Cody]

A little bit like. Like, I buy 10k cups of an unnamed brand. It was always 9.99. You know, basically a buck a cup for years, and now it's like 12.99, 13.99. That's pretty big.

[Dan Le Batard]

I thought Zaslav was going to bring in a plain stick today. What happened?

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Good job, good job, good job.

[Zaslow]

Why can't someone remind me?

[Dan Le Batard]

Think.

[Zaslow]

I got to remember everything.

[Greg Cody]

You blew it.

[Dan Le Batard]

You got to remember to go everything. I got a plain stick at Dunkin Donuts. When. That's your thing. You said yesterday. That's my thing. I'm going to bring it in tomorrow.

[Zaslow]

And now I'm annoyed because now I'd really like to eat a plain stick right now.

[Dan Le Batard]

And everyone said it, and then we put it on a poll, and 85 of the people said they didn't know what a plain stick was. And you were going to show us today what a plain stick was.

[Zaslow]

I've let everyone down.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, you have.

[Pablo Torre]

It's okay. We're used.

[Greg Cody]

Yo.

[Zaslow]

You don't have to agree so quick, Greg.

[Pablo Torre]

Bricks of Cuban coffee are out of control. If you're asking me, Dan. Like yava bustelo they used to be like a $99 or something for like a brick down near $5. Now it's crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Put it on the poll as well. At Lebatard show, have you noticed that coffee prices have exploded?

[Pablo Torre]

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[Mike Ryan]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Howdy.

[Mike Ryan]

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[Dan Le Batard]

Don LeBatard. You don't remember the idea?

[Pablo Torre]

I was probably like that kind of thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

Something.

[Greg Cody]

Okay. No, the home run call was that kind of swing. That kind of thing.

[Stugats]

Stugats.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, it's a good call.

[Greg Cody]

Thank you. And plus, it doesn't matter who's hitting it. Like, you're not tailoring it to a particular name. You know, all that jazz, you know, you don't got to do that. Oh, that would be a great call. Swing. That kind of thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the Stugats. The Pablo Torre finds out story that I do believe. I don't know. You guys have now seen it. It dropped at 5 o'. Clock. Do we have any special imaging? Even though we're coming in a couple of hours late on what it is that's happening with Pablo Torre. His episode dropped at 5am this morning. He's been working on it for seven months. Okay. Because this is his first assignment in a partnership with the Athletic and he's coming out with the biggest story I think he's ever had. But you guys have now seen of the story. Did we over promise and under deliver? Did we promise correctly or did we under promise and over deliver? Because we normally don't talk this positively about something that's coming out. But I really do believe that even in a football week, as soon as people see what the size of this story is it's got some nuance in it. Some of his stories are hard to report cleanly. Like just saying, hey, this thing is so. And it's a fact because you're accusing people of things and there's lawyering involved. You don't want to get sued. You have to like, you have to make sure that you have your facts right on a story like this. You can't be flippant about it. But where, so. So if anyone here is accused of violating the salary cap with a, for example, an alleged $28 million no show job for Kawhi Leonard, a superstar that everyone was wondering when the Clippers got him, how did that happen? Uncle Dennis was involved. Kawhi was asking for a ton of things. Did we over promise?

[Zaslow]

I'll be honest. When Pablo first started mentioning this like a few weeks ago, and I got a big story coming out, you know, and, and David was mentioning, hey, saying he's got a big story coming out, I was like, all right. It's like, better be a doozy, all right, Because Pablo's had a couple stories that felt pretty big and you're saying this one's bigger. So I, I'll admit I was skeptical. You know, is this gonna come out? Like, it's not that big of a thing. And then I see it this morning and it's a pretty big thing. I think, I think that people are going to be like, I think they're going to be a lot of trouble with this story. I mean, heck, I was listening on the way in here on Sirius XM on NBA Radio, they were all over it. Like they were talking about the story and Pablo this, Pablo that. Like, I think once people are starting to wake up today, they see the story. I think, I think it's big trouble.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah. I normally have below average interest in business stories and stories that involve contracts, but this is a true blockbuster. And I think the size of it, the weight of it is going to be known when the repercussions come in. Like, is, is Ballmer going to be suspended? Are they going to be fined or the club going to be fined?

[Dan Le Batard]

They can't lose draft picks because OKC's got them all.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, exactly. But what are they, you know, is, is the deal going to be negated?

[Zaslow]

No, the punishment should be. They have to keep Kawhi Leonard. That's the punishment.

[Mike Ryan]

Played good last year, Zaz.

[Zaslow]

They would love to get out from that contract.

[Dan Le Batard]

I kind of poo pooed the last one of these.

[Mike Ryan]

Pablo's.

[Dan Le Batard]

This one, this one's big.

[Zaslow]

It's a good one.

[Pablo Torre]

Kind of like the Woj has a Woj bomb.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is a Pablo.

[Greg Cody]

Whoa.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's the dropping of a Pablo.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, he's blown away.

[Dan Le Batard]

Like, can you feel it?

[Greg Cody]

Oh, yeah, I can.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's a. Is there a Pablo out there?

[Mike Ryan]

It's brisk, but it's not like powerful. Maybe that's like a nuke and this is like the nuclear winter sound.

[Dan Le Batard]

It sounds to me like a Pablo. This is the dropping of a Pablo. Get back in the workshop and see if you can make better imaging for that.

[Mike Ryan]

Dan, that costs falling $7,000.

[Dan Le Batard]

I feel nervous.

[Pablo Torre]

What's. What's Pablo's security detail like? Provided by Metalark, because he's pissing off a lot of powerful people who, you know, maybe might try to kill him.

[Dan Le Batard]

I don't know if people listening to.

[Pablo Torre]

This put it delicately.

[Dan Le Batard]

That was not. I don't think that people necessarily, the discerning ones do, but I don't think that people necessarily see what's happening throughout the entirety of media and sports media. That makes it more and more difficult with all of these corporate partnerships and all of these teams not caring for sports journalism and as far as I can tell, not sure how much sports fans care for sports journalism until it's done this kind of thoroughly. And they then enjoy, of course, the scandal. But what's happening throughout sports journalism is resources throughout, local news throughout everything, not just sports, is that it's all being hacked to death by an assortment of efficiency cuts and people not seeing this stuff as important. So Meadowlark Media has made a substantive investment in making sure that this show can do what what outside the lines used to do, what HBO Real Sports used to do in the podcast form. No one else is doing this in the podcast form in sports. Let's play a clip from Pablo Torre finds out this episode dropped at 5am we will get better imaging for when it is a Pablo.

[Pablo Torre]

Do you remember the first time that you discovered Kawhi Leonard's endorsement agreement with Aspiration?

[Stugats]

Oh, it was within the first 30 days of my employment with the company and I didn't so much as discover it as I was told about it.

[Pablo Torre]

What was your reaction? What were you told?

[Stugats]

My reaction was what the and I was told like, oh, these are the major contracts and the major players you really need to be aware of. And we went through a litany of, you know, really, really top tier name contracts. And then, oh, by the way, we also have a marketing deal with Kawhi Leonard, a $28 million organic marketing sponsorship deal with Kawhi and that if I had any questions about it, essentially dulled because it was to circumvent the salary cap. Lol. There was lots of LOL when things were shared.

[Pablo Torre]

Did you ever see proof of Kawhi Leonard marketing or endorsing aspiration in any way?

[Dan Le Batard]

Never.

[Stugats]

Not once. The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. Nothing. He didn't have to do anything.

[Pablo Torre]

In other words, Kawhi Leonard got from aspiration a $28 million no show job.

[Stugats]

Yeah. It's amazing. I'm honestly so jealous. So jealous. I mean, he's got the dream, like it's within my beliefs to be paid $28 million and do absolutely all as well.

[Dan Le Batard]

One of the things that I wrote down on a piece of paper when we left espn, in terms of aspirational bullet points, there weren't that many, but one of them was, I'd like to start something that allows me to use a voice modulator. And I don't think we do it particularly well here.

[Mike Ryan]

No, that was bad because that was very clearly BO ban.

[Stugats]

Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think it's pretty obvious to anybody who worked with that person who that is like, I believe his. His voice is distinctive enough.

[Mike Ryan]

Oh, I sign in a pronoun. Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

That while it is that we're listening to it, we don't know who it is. But I think the people who would be mad that that person spoke would recognize that voice. I don't think we use the voice modulator very well.

[Greg Cody]

So identifiable. Unbelievable.

[Mike Ryan]

What?

[Greg Cody]

Yeah, that guy. To people who know him, to people who work for that company.

[Dan Le Batard]

How can you know that the voice sounds different?

[Greg Cody]

Please.

[Mike Ryan]

I mean, what if it's a woman?

[Stugats]

It's possible.

[Mike Ryan]

In fact, I would say, in my opinion, I heard that. I'm like, it's possibly a woman. And to hear you guys speak with such certainty that it's not probably speaks to the fact that it might be a good voice modulation.

[Dan Le Batard]

You know what? I need to slightly take that back because I erred in assuming that it was or is a man. Where I don't think I erred is in thinking that we would be bad as a group at voice modulation and that therefore that would be a man. Because to disguise the voice and have it be a woman would be well done. I don't believe we did it that well.

[Mike Ryan]

The second episode of Pablo Torre finds out is we track down whether or not that's a man or a woman.

[Greg Cody]

Yeah.

[Mike Ryan]

Yeah, hey, there's spaces in between.

[Dan Le Batard]

EXIMA isn't always obvious, but it's real. And so is the relief from EBGLIS. After an initial dosing phase, about 4.

[Stugats]

In 10 people taking EBGLIS achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks, and most of those people maintained skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing.

[Dan Le Batard]

EBGLIS Librekizumab LBKZ a 250 milligram per 2 milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12.

[Mike Ryan]

Years of age and older who weigh.

[Dan Le Batard]

At least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals, or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to Ebglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with Ebglis. Before starting epglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection searching for real relief. Ask your doctor about epglis and visit.

[Stugats]

Epgliss.Lily.Com or call 1-800-lilyrx or 100-1-800-545-5979. This episode is brought to you by State Farm.

[Pablo Torre]

Checking off the boxes on your to.

[Stugats]

Do list is a great feeling. And when it comes to checking off.

[Dan Le Batard]

Coverage, a State Farm agent can help.

[Pablo Torre]

You choose an option that's right for you.

[Stugats]

Whether you prefer talking in person on the phone or using the award winning app, it's nice knowing you have help finding coverage that best fits your needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Mike Ryan]

Labor Day savings are happening right now at the Home Depot.

[Dan Le Batard]

So what are you working on? Prep for fall with our wide selection.

[Mike Ryan]

Of cordless power tools that make it easy to clear your lawn starting at $79.

[Pablo Torre]

And once the leaves are clear, keep.

[Dan Le Batard]

Your yard looking fresh with colorful mums.

[Mike Ryan]

That bloom all season long.

[Pablo Torre]

Shop Labor Day Savings now through September 3rd only at the Home Depot.

[Dan Le Batard]

See select stores for details.

[Zaslow]

Don LeBatard let me get some golf.

[Greg Cody]

Asmr stugats oh me.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the Dan Levatar show with the stugats Greg Cody wanted us to find when he came in here today. What I have spoken about before, which is the one time that he was using a voice modulator when he suggested in print, something that Zaslo still makes fun of him about 30 years later, that the Dolphins trade Dan Marino.

[Greg Cody]

Right. I'm the only person in this room whose voice has been modulated, so I speak from experience.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, Chris has done some voice modulation with a new toy that he has back there that we've given him because again, the bullet points were I wanted to be good at voice modulation and we're still not good at voice modulation.

[Pablo Torre]

I also snitched on Balmer to Paul.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oops. Greg, would you please get in that seat over there where our voice modulator is in the middle seat and see since you. I'd like to see if we can get slightly better at the voice modulation here. But I'm on it in front of. He loved Greg Cody. Loved that. In 1990 or thereabouts. Can you look at the date on that framed column over there? It's probably 93 on the wall on when it is that Greg Cody. The most memorable column Greg Cody has ever written. 93 in 1993. He blasphemed. Sacrilege. He traded Dan Marino in print. And afterward I thought it was Channel 10 that interviewed him, although he said it was Jim Berry, who I think is still on the air. I think Jim Berry is still on.

[Mike Ryan]

The air anchor chair.

[Dan Le Batard]

And he had his voice and his face modulated like you would a whistleblower or anybody whose identity you were trying to conceal, who was giving you information that was dangerous for them to be known to be giving. And so he once did an interview in front of the Miami Herald building that way. And he wanted us to find it for him from 30 years ago. And I feel like I would have had to go straight to Jim Barry and ask him to go through things. I would have to put in a VCR in order to get them to play because this is so old. It's 10 years before the Internet. Never mind social media.

[Pablo Torre]

Pablo would have found it.

[Dan Le Batard]

It. Maybe Pablo can find it so that we can hear a young sounding Greg Cody. But Greg, let me hear, Let me see if your voice would be well disguised here if we modulated it here instead of using all of the resources that Pablo has.

[Stugats]

Hello, this is not Greg Cody. That kind of thing. And you know it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay, now, any questions?

[Pablo Torre]

I want the whole show like this.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you. You want Greg to sit in there? All show must for the Dolphins, huh?

[Stugats]

That's not Greg. But I, I do agree with Greg.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why are you talking so slow?

[Stugats]

Dolphins need to win this opener, it's.

[Dan Le Batard]

Because you can hear yourself. It's kind of awkward.

[Stugats]

What do you mean, Greg, do you have it?

[Mike Ryan]

Back in my day.

[Stugats]

A what? I. I stand behind Greg for not doing back in my days anymore. You all have him singing songs and doing so many ancillary things that his ridiculous and you know it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Talk faster.

[Zaslow]

Why are you talking so slow?

[Stugats]

I'm talking at my normal speed. This is. Yeah. My wife loves this deep, sexy voice, I'll tell you that.

[Dan Le Batard]

There you go.

[Pablo Torre]

How would you talk to her with it?

[Stugats]

Yeah, baby.

[Pablo Torre]

What's your wife's name?

[Stugats]

I forget.

[Dan Le Batard]

You're not Greg, so.

[Stugats]

Yeah, I'm not Greg. My wife's name is Eileen.

[Greg Cody]

Come on, Eileen.

[Stugats]

Eileen that way and you know it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Come on, Eileen.

[Stugats]

I didn't say that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Roy said it. And I know. I was like, we're doing a duo.

[Pablo Torre]

Thing back and forth.

[Dan Le Batard]

You. You. I have to. I have to admit that that is not only an exceptional voice simulator, it's at least in part exceptional because the person speaking is clearly about 350 pounds heavier than Greg. Cody, you can hear the. You. We could play a game where you turn around and then we. Someone in here talks and you have.

[Pablo Torre]

To guess who's doing it.

[Stugats]

Yeah, that's a good idea, baby.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think we're doing pretty well with gravy.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah, we just cook.

[Dan Le Batard]

Although I also think that Billy could do all of this better. Let's. Billy, would you go outside, please? Go. Because I want to do. What is the pixelation called? I guess that's what it's called. Pixelation.

[Pablo Torre]

You nailed it. Yeah.

[Dan Le Batard]

Good job.

[Stugats]

Well done.

[Pablo Torre]

Now, if you. You're telling me to go do something pixelated, people will know it's me because you just told me to do it.

[Stugats]

Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Pablo Torre]

Defeats the purpose of the pixelation.

[Dan Le Batard]

Let's do something then where no one could ever know it's you. I want you to put on now.

[Pablo Torre]

They'll know because again, you're saying me. Just say someone should. No one will know who it is. All right, Say Greg. Greg. Why don't you go do it, Greg?

[Stugats]

I could do that. If I can find Greg, I'll let him know.

[Greg Cody]

Okay, good.

[Stugats]

I still can't get over the Zazlow. Forgot the. The plain sticks.

[Zaslow]

Oh, I know. Why you got to keep bringing that up. Would it kill someone to remind me in the morning? I got a lot going on.

[Dan Le Batard]

Tomorrow you're going to bring in a plain stick.

[Zaslow]

If someone reminds me.

[Stugats]

Bringing enough for everybody.

[Dan Le Batard]

All right, someone please leave the room and or someone go into another room. A total mystery figure. And let's see if we can figure out who that person is based on whatever it is, the maximum disguise that we can pour resources so that we can actually do this correctly before we try the game that Chris is suggesting, which is I have to turn my back to things and figure out who's talking at the microphone. We will do that in a moment. And we will also get to the fact that the state of Florida has three teams in the top 15. The biggest stunner, FSU, all of a sudden in the top 15. Going from 13 and 1 to 2 and 10 to now back in the top 15. That is a roller coaster ride.

[Mike Ryan]

Boy, do they look good.

[Stugats]

The overreaction to their beating Alabama to vote them from unranked to number 10 is ridiculous.

[Zaslow]

Good thing they were intent, though.

[Mike Ryan]

They were 14.

[Stugats]

Well, still, my point is well made. That kind of thing.

[Dan Le Batard]

You not only sound like you're £450, you also, because of how slow you're talking, you sound like you're slurring, like you sound like you've had a great deal to drink.

[Stugats]

Right? Well, here's the thing, you know, I. I was born this way. You know, don't make fun of my voice now. I can artificially try to talk even quicker and see how it turns out, but this is the quickest it goes. Hey, this is the quickest it goes, everybody. This is the quickest it goes. Yeah, this is the quickest it goes.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the quickest it goes. All right, we go on to the other room where Billy obviously is better at all of these things than we are. Let's go out to a super secret person who clear, is not Billy. It's somebody else. Let's see if we can figure out who this is.

[Stugats]

This is good. And the voice is gonna be changed. Yeah, yeah, you're good. So we're talking about Pablo. Oh, he broke another story. Big deal. Wow. We're with the Athletic now. We're breaking serious news. How about this for breaking news? Football starts on Thursday. You're releasing a story on Wednesday. And what's the story? Oh, a rich guy did something a little bit sketchy and maybe got around laws. Who could have seen that coming? Billionaires getting their way by not following the law and making up fake tree planting companies. I'm shocked. Aghast. How about this? Philadelphia Eagles, Thursday. Football starts Friday. Brazil, Saturday. Fiu, Penn State, Sunday. Sunday Night Football. The NFL full slate is back Monday. This story has what a day to exist. And we're gonna throw a big party to find out that all of a sudden these people are not all on the up and up. Allegedly. Who cares? Why do we need this? Like, did Pablo not get enough attention as a child? And now we have to stop everything that we do every time he puts out a podcast episode and pretend like we've discovered some sort of great thing that's gonna change the world. No one cares. No one cares about this story. No one's gonna care about it. Everybody's flying down to throw a party. They're sending all these. Do not report until 5am on Wednesday. As if I want to tell my friends about this story anyway. Like, I want to talk. Did you hear about Kawhi Leonard and Steve Ballmer?

[Dan Le Batard]

No.

[Stugats]

No one gives a shit about Steve Ballmer. Here's the story. They cheated and they still suck. They haven't won anything. Why don't you explore that? Why don't you find out what. Why they keep cheating and can't win. That's the interesting thing. If anything, cheat better. This isn't even good cheating. You have one. Shit. Who cares about this story? Who cares about the Clippers? Who cares about Kawhi Leonard? Who cares about replanting trees? Ridiculous.

[Dan Le Batard]

I do want to talk about what a great fake business, the tree planting business.

[Mike Ryan]

My God, Dan, if you're talking about fraud, the one thing you gotta do is make sure that you're not selling something that can be traced back to you, right? Hey, yeah, we planted the tree. See that tree right there? We planted it. And you're like, really?

[Dan Le Batard]

Wow.

[Mike Ryan]

How much did it cost you?

[Greg Cody]

100 grand. No biggie.

[Mike Ryan]

And you just re. And you just multiply that for $28 million. You plant a trillion trees, Everybody's happy. You replant the rainforest and you never did anything.

[Dan Le Batard]

And you get all this money and.

[Mike Ryan]

It doesn't matter what an incredible fraud.

[Dan Le Batard]

I think that that mystery figure was indeed right when he or she shrugs his or her shoulders and says, oh, big surprise. A billionaire skirting the rules. However, one of the shocking things about this to me, many, many years ago. Can you look this up for me and see if it is indeed true? Because it might be an urban myth, but for many years, the greatest example of cheating in sports with money used to be Eric Dickerson and the way that he was recruited, and specifically the way SMU recruited him before SMU went on like this. Total probation because they were cheating everywhere. And the story goes. And please look this up for me to see if it's True, because I've asked Eric Dickerson and he will not confirm it. And I can't remember if it's true or urban myth that SMU offered him an oil well that's 40 years ago to see that make an appearance in the pros because of course they're going to try and get around the salary cap. And Mark Cuban one time got gonged because he just let Dennis Rodman stay at his house for a while because they're very particular about out. We're legislating equality here. Bad teams get better. We need everything to be competitive. When you circumvent the salary cap, as it looks like the Clippers did to land Kawhi Leonard with a $28 million no show job that used to be the exclusive domain of colleges. And the way that colleges recruited before that they could, before they could pay players is legitimately shocking to me. Even understanding that Uncle Dennis and Kawhi were working in the shadows and weren't doing business the way necessarily Ballmer usually business.

[Mike Ryan]

How unlikely is it to you guys that Steve Ballmer is the only billionaire that tried this in a cap sport? Because my take after this reporting by Pablo is I think there are some other owners that are getting a little nervous.

[Pablo Torre]

Name names.

[Dan Le Batard]

I thought that. And I've never been able to actually confirm this because I thought that at a for a while there when China was making its way in and the Chinese endorsements were making their way into the sport, that there were creative ways that an assortment of owners were leveraging relationships to get people endorsement money because of the relationships that they had in China that would have been outside of the salary cap and had some promises in it that would allow this. But a $28 million no show job is beyond the pale. Like this is to pay someone that much for something that they didn't even have to do an endorsement deal, that the whole thing just seemed kind of bo because he was hiding behind some plants. Some hiding behind some plants and tree plant.

[Zaslow]

We know for sure that he didn't plant any trees.

[Greg Cody]

That's what they say.

[Mike Ryan]

So the thing is, if you're going to go through with a good scam, you got to have the backstory right. You got to have Kawhi in some Timberland boots with a shovel. You got to have him next to a couple of trees, a little bit of dirt on his face, a little bit of sweat and you're like, look, he's planting these trees. What was his no show job at this company?

[Dan Le Batard]

No show. It was to no show Tree planter.

[Mike Ryan]

Was he just picturing with the tree? Like, what was his job?

[Dan Le Batard]

He was a celebrity endorser like Robert Downey Jr. They were spending a lot of money on celebrity endorsements.

[Zaslow]

I like the LLC that he created to get payment KW2. Like they're really hiding the. Well, I mean, you may as well just named it Salary Cap Cheating LLC.

[Mike Ryan]

W2 the name of the fake company in it.

[Stugats]

Well, part of, part of the outrage here is the stupidity. The idea that they have a fake company for Kawhi Leonard and don't even go through the pretense of him actually having a job. It would be so easy to fake that. Have him do an ad, have him do a commercial, appear in a magazine. They did none of that. But to Mike's point, and he's right, I instantly wondered if this team is so ham handedly trying to circumvent the salary cap, it's got to be going on not only in the NBA but in every major.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. But I think so. Okay, you say that the MLS is.

[Mike Ryan]

Overtly doing it with Messi. I mean, they have rules that designated players can make what they want. But the pot was sweetened with Apple. And we just understand the business that Messi brings over to that league and everybody is okay with it, but there is just no way off earth that Steve Ballmer was the first person to think of this and execute it. No way. Now, other people may be better at covering up their tracks, I assume, I can only assume that there are teams right now looking into this kind of thing.

[Pablo Torre]

In fairness to Kawhi and Steve Ballmer, sometimes seeds just don't take.

[Mike Ryan]

That is true.

[Pablo Torre]

You know, like, I don't know if you've ever had to like the school project where your kid bring homes like a pumpkin scene. Like, wow, I'm gonna have a pumpkin patch in my backyard. And now it never pay for pumpkins again at, you know, Halloween. And it just never grows. So it's possible they got dud season. They're the real victims here.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can you look up for me, please? What are the greatest salary cap scandals in the history of sports? Because we're fascinated by the numbers.

[Zaslow]

Juan Howard in the Heat.

[Dan Le Batard]

The salary cap. Yeah, after that one, Pat Riley had the famous quote that the NBA office made him feel like he had just gone back from the proctologist and they'd stuck a hundred, 100 foot pole up his fort because they, they overrode the Juwan Howard trade. But when you guys, or the Duane Howard transaction, when you guys are cynical and understandably saying, ah, this probably happens all the time. That's one thing. I don't agree with it because they're very vigilant about investigating this stuff and the penalties are harsh and will be harsh.

[Pablo Torre]

But they did investigate this previously and found nothing.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but now weren't super vigilant. No, but my, this is my point exactly. It's one thing to suspect it, it's a whole nother thing to be able to prove it. And it's in public now and it feels proven that one is what's rare about it. Like you can have your cynicisms, but Pablo actually did the work and the facts on this are something that are going to. They're going to have reverberations throughout the sport.

[Mike Ryan]

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