Reporting emerged Wednesday alleging that the Los Angeles Clippers used a phony endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the NBA salary cap, but that may not be the only deal that faces renewed scrutiny.
Pablo Torre, who was behind the reporting on Leonard’s shady endorsement deal, appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” Wednesday to discuss the story. During the interview, Patrick asked Torre whether other people might be outed in similar ways.
“My tipline has never been more used by enemies of Jalen Brunson,” Torre said.
Patrick then asked Torre if there was anything to allegations that the Knicks may have done something similar in order to sign Brunson. Torre’s response, essentially, was that he was already looking into it.
“How he arrived at the Knicks, this is where I will have to defer to the reporting I may or may not do on this,” Torre said. “Certainly, it was interesting. That was a pretty good deal for the Knicks. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but that’s a bit of a tease.”
Pablo Torre hints at potential Jalen Brunson/Knicks story. @NBA_NewYork @CPTheFanchise @IanBegley pic.twitter.com/jf6xBecp3W
— EJ Pierre (@ep1erre) September 3, 2025
Brunson signed a new contract with the Knicks in 2024 and left a lot of money on the table in doing so. There were rumors that the NBA looked into the fact that Brunson’s father Rick got a promotion on the team’s coaching staff around the same time.
Brunson’s original decision to sign with the Knicks was also not without controversy. In 2022, the organization was fined and docked a second-round pick after the NBA determined that the Knicks had contacted Brunson before league rules allowed them to.
As explosive as the Leonard story is, anything involving Brunson could be even more impactful. While Leonard has been frequently injured during his time with the Clippers, Brunson has developed into the Knicks’ focal point and is the star player on a legitimate contender. He averaged 26.0 points and and 7.3 assists per game last season and hit a number of clutch shots during the team’s playoff run.
