Transcript of Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers Have Gotten Away With It | Hour 1

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Chris Cody, have you heard back from friend of the show AJ Burnett yet on his appearance?

I have not.

I'll keep you updated. All right. Greg, have you heard back yet on your investigation into who was the AP voter, the one AP vote that had the Miami Hurricanes go over?

I have an update. I'm the new Pablo Torre. Jordan McPherson got back to me, said, "Hi, Greg, I'm not an AP voter this year." Good.

Consequences.

But he would have had them 2-4. Like in the 2 to 4 range.

Everyone understood that.

If he was a voter, he had Oregon first. Uh, the, the new AP voter locally is Adam Lichtenstein of the Sun Sentinel. What'd he say? Who apparently voted him third. Ah. And I have, I have more information.

More.

The word in the street is that the lone first-place vote for the Miami Hurricanes was cast by a Syracuse writer named Javon Edwards. Unofficial, but that's the word.

Good on you, Javon. Wow.

On the street.

Send him a DM now, Chris. Ask him if he was the guy.

And will he come on the show?

Yeah.

And his pick?

Yeah. Ask if he will come on the show to confirm or deny.

Yes. That's Javon Edwards of the Syracuse Post-Standard.

To tell him word on the street is that he was the vote, and we would like him to confirm or deny on air.

Yeah, I have a question for Greg really quick. As, as newspaper man of old, how did newspapers decide what their name was going to be? Because you had Syracuse Post-Gazette, then you've got the Standard, you know, whatever, and then you got this and that.

Like, my favorite, uh, Tony, is the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Yeah, that's fun.

That is fun, right?

I always think it was funny when you ran into one that was like the Miami News. It's like, you can't be more creative than news. But as old as I am, it was already the Miami Herald when I started working for it, so I have no idea that origin. I don't know.

It's weird, like the names, like they just pick these random names and then just like, that's part of what it is now. And there's only like a certain lexicon of words you can add. Yeah, as the name of a newspaper.

That's true, it's a good point.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Yeah, that's a good one.

Yeah, that's crazy.

That's a good one.

So big news of the day yesterday is Solo Sikoa turning his back on his uncle.

What a final— what a final segment that was.

Cousin?

Cousin. Cousin. I think he's second cousin. What a final segment that was on Monday Night Raw last night, Greg. Your thoughts coming up in a little bit. Yeah, but the ESPN came out with a report yesterday. They came out with a story yesterday that The NBA has not found a link. They have not found credible evidence to suggest that Steve Bomber has funneled money through sponsorship to Kawhi Leonard.

The Chicago Sun-Times.

And that set the internet ablaze. Now, right now, now everyone is dunking on Pablo because ESPN is reporting that the NBA is not finding a link. And the first place that I would go, Amin, is, okay, let's think about this for a second here.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Which side would you be on?

We have a fine situation for Greg Cody.

Oh, I was searching the internet.

Javon Edwards, like, who is some football player at Coastal Carolina?

No, it's It's Edmonds.

Javon Edmonds. All right, but that's a fine for McPherson. Whoever wrote it, maybe my dad read it wrong.

Okay, what is the last name? Edmonds. Okay, I have evidence here to dispute any fine.

So he sent you the wrong name? So it's Jordan's fault.

So tell him $5 fine.

Tell him. I'll pay the fine for him. I just want you to know that it was not my mistake. I read—

No, no, no, that's a great appeal.

Thank you.

The Hartford Current.

So now you have—

that's an NWSL team.

I'm saying to myself, okay, which would you be more inclined to believe? A reporter who has no skin in the game as far as which, you know, what's what, but is putting his livelihood on the line, his credibility, his reputation on the line to cover a story fairly, or would you side with the business, in this case the NBA, that is paying investigators to investigate themselves? Like, which side here would you be more inclined to believe?

Uh, it's almost a rhetorical question because for me it goes without saying, uh, the impartial jury here is Pablo, and he's not even a jurist. He's presenting the facts. I believe Pablo Torre and his investigation.

I—

if I'm going to be— if fans are going to be dunking on somebody, it should be Adam Silver for looking at this with blinders on and making a ruling that serves his and his league's best interest. They want this whole thing to go away. They want it to go away. So do the owners, I think, throughout the league. And so he's making the prudent announcement that, well, there's just not enough— we weren't able to find any wrongdoing here. It doesn't mean that Pablo Torre was wrong. It doesn't even mean that by, by 5%.

Now to me, you know, I'm, I'm also thinking, all right, let's again, let's, let's try and be rational about this here. There was a report not too long ago, like a week or so ago, that the league is currently negotiating. They're trying to find a resolution as to what the punishment should be. They're negotiating with Bomber, with the Clippers, what the punishments in this situation would be. So if we're gonna use some common sense, why would you negotiate— why would you have to negotiate what a punishment should be when there's been no findings of wrongdoing?

Yeah, exactly. That's well put. If, if you're not guilty, you're not guilty. If you're negotiating a settlement, you're admitting some sort of guilt, I would think.

Like, if you're getting together— if the league is getting together with Steve Bomber, all right, Steve, we're going to negotiate a punishment here. And then Steve Bomber's like, all right, what do you got on me? And the league says nothing. All right, I vote no punishment. Like, what? I mean, am I framing this properly?

The Jacksonville Daily Record.

Do you get mad when stuff like this comes out, like yesterday?

Like what?

Because you've put a lot of work into this. I mean, Pablo's put in the most work, but you put in like the second most work.

So there's a couple of things with this story, right? Number one is ESPN's story comes out and the Clippers immediately come out with a statement and say, "See?" Right. As if it's all confirmation.

Right.

And so when Mike Bass comes out, and Mike Bass is the main spokesperson for the NBA, and you can tell sometimes by the tenor of his releases He's kind of like Pat Riley in that way where it's like, oh, Mike's not happy about this one. The way that thing was worded was—

so NBA spokesman Mike Bass puts out a statement. ESPN's article regarding the LA Clippers investigation, which the NBA declined to cooperate, contains numerous and significant inaccuracies. The result in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded. They came out with that statement very fast, very fast, because the—

again, they could have just kept quiet, like, kept quiet, which you normally would, normally would, right? It's like, yeah, Yeah, like, we didn't cooperate with this, but like, we're not going to confirm or deny or whatever. But for them to come out that quickly—

why would they do that?

Because the story probably contains significant inaccuracies, right?

And these are very credible reporters.

Absolutely.

On that ESPN report.

My thing is always this: I always believe reporters are trying to get it right, but they are not compromised— shouldn't be the word I use— but The one vulnerability they have is the source. So we had an example of this quite accidentally right now, a few seconds ago, where Greg said, hey, the source says the name of the guy that did the vote was so-and-so, so-and-so. And then these guys are like, oh no, Greg, you got it wrong. I was like, well, no, no, this was what was told to me. Now obviously Greg didn't go through two-factor— not two-factor authentication, what's it called? Two-source—

That was your mistake, Greg.

Independent source confirmation, right? But that's the point. I can get multiple independent sources who give me incorrect information, whether that's because they had it wrong, whether because they are trying to influence the news cycle. It happens, and it happens a lot. And most of the time when you see reporting, particularly reporting like this, not reporting that took over a year of— like, it was 9 months of Pablo working on something before we even had the first episode. Right? Not that kind of reporting, but reporting where it's like, "Well, this happened over here. Oh, this is a new thing over here." The whole transaction thing, that happens because you're going off of velocity. I just want rapid information, not I'm working these sources and I'm grinding them down and I'm searching high and low and I'm pulling FOIA requests and all that stuff. So for me, I read it before I even saw Mike Bass's statement. I was like, that— I find that hard to believe based on all the things that we've presented and all the things that we still have yet to present. I find it hard to believe the league was like, yeah, they didn't do anything wrong.

When I read it, I said, you know what it sounds like? Kinda sounds like the Clippers. Because this is what everyone who I've talked to who deal with the Clippers say they behave like. Whether it's teams that are trying to do transactions with them, whether it's media members who talking to them, They do this thing where they just— no, there's nothing going on, man. I don't know what they're talking about. The idea that the, the only thing that would happen is like, hey, you guys really have to pay attention to who you introduce people to. Like, that's insane compared to the information that we present.

And again, why would you negotiate a settlement if that's all you did when there has been no evidence of wrongdoing?

Like, the way that report came out made it seem like All they did was, hey, man, you've got some lower-level employees that may have overstepped some bounds in terms of where introductions happen to the thing. So it's like, if that's the violation, then why, like you said, why, why, why would it even get to a point? You'd be like, yeah, I'll take the slap on the wrist and let's keep it moving.

What happened yesterday was fascinating. We have to keep in mind the NBA and ESPN are league partners. This report comes out from ESPN with some heavy-hitter journalists attached to it. Yeah, that's— ESPN is a big deal. And while everyone's getting their jokes off on Pablo Torre, um, and everyone's assuming the league partner is carrying water for the league and this was all the plan, the NBA comes out with a statement that, from where I'm sitting, boys, was a lot stronger than anything they've directed in the direction of Pablo or his report. Yes, that— I think that part has to be paid attention to. I think the league was really upset at the optics and already setting the expectation that there would be zero consequence here. But it's very rare for this to happen, that they're not aligned. ESPN's reporters and the league, you had to have assumed that ESPN was aware of this and the league was aware that this investigation from ESPN's journalists was happening. This story was coming out because people were asked for quotes and whatnot. For this to come out And for the league to have that statement immediately after, that's a sloppy shop.

Down, Levitar!

God, I would love to see that interaction. Lord, let there be a day.

Hey, Oprah!

Let there be a day. Oh, The Color Purple.

You like these glasses?

She would see these glasses. She'd be like, this is someone I'll take a picture with.

"He looks sophisticated." I love big game, not a big game.

Jonathan Sasselow. She would say that to me. Instead of me having to go up to her and say, "I'm a big fan," she'd be like, "I love big deal, not a big deal." Huge fan of your work. You a one-time or two-time championship broadcaster? Two.

Oprah?

Two. You think Oprah would say like, "Hey, know about that book club?" And I would say, "Yes, I do, Oprah.

Yes, I do." Have you seen Weapons?

But the kids!

This is the Dan Le Batard Show.

Mike, you hit on something very, very specific there. We've been reporting this story since September. They have never come out with anything close to the vitriol of that short statement from Mike Bass. For them to just— like, it's kind of like Yeah, okay, well, I guess that could be true. Maybe, maybe not. But like, you hear something that's not true, like, hell no, I ain't do that. That's basically what the NBA did.

Yeah.

The other part of it, to go back to ESPN's reporting, that somehow this all turns into, oh no, we just introduce people, whatever. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to make this very simple for you. Kawhi Leonard got paid by Aspiration an amount that was more than Robert Downey Jr. Leonardo DiCaprio and Drake combined to never talk, whereas those guys all did the talking on behalf of that company.

I read a story the other day, Leonardo DiCaprio has sex while wearing headphones and listening to music.

He probably does.

I saw that too.

Crazy.

The other thing that we've uncovered with Daktronics is again, Daktronics paid Kawhi Leonard as a spokesperson when in the 60-year history of their company they've never paid for a spokesperson, and that's part of their whole philosophy. We don't pay for spokespeople, alright? So in both cases, money was paid to this guy to not say any— to not do any spokesperson type activity. From the collective bargaining agreement, it shall constitute a violation of Section 1A above to enter an agreement or understanding with any sponsor, business partner, third party, under which that party agrees to pay compensation for basketball services even if such compensation is ostensibly designated as being non-basketball services. So it's a violation for them to pay you for basketball even They say, no, this was to be a spokesperson. And then here's the part: such compensation is substantially in excess of fair market value of any services rendered by the player. Substantially in excess of fair market value. So if I told you I paid DiCaprio $5 and Robert Downey Jr. $5 and Drake $5, and I paid Kawhi Leonard $25 Does that sound like excess of fair market value? Yeah, right? Yeah, that's to me open and shut case right there.

I know, like, like, hey, so, so back to my original question: do you get mad?

I don't get mad because the ruling hasn't happened. These reports are just reports. They're just telling me what I believe to be what the Clippers think about the situation. Maybe there's some other people behind the scenes, maybe some people on the league side speaking on, on the case of anonymity and not on behalf of the NBA, who say, yeah, I don't think anything's going to happen.

But I mean, like, if we can parse through what, what we know that's in the story and the statements and what Pablo's reporting has told us about the questions that are being asked, uh, by Wachtell, it does— the theory that they're going to try to put this on Kawhi and Uncle Dennis does gain even more steam, right?

It's impossible Right?

It's—

if it was Kawhi and Uncle Dennis and not the Clippers, then guess what that is? It's not capster convention. They just went out and made money, and they're free to make money in any way.

Well, it can't be on Kawhi and Uncle Dennis and not the Clippers because the Raptors aren't being accused of this.

No, it's—

it's—

no, not because of that. Because if there's no team that's culpable, then it's not capster convention. And that's like— that's the part to me that's crazy, how many people— jemokes on the internet, and people were NBA players and people who are close to NBA players who are like, why y'all going after Kawhi? I'm like, you morons.

Well, let's also remember Jalen Brown, like he told us when we call him the smartest guy in the room, the bar is really low.

I'm just saying, like, we got a glimpse of that yesterday, didn't we? You know, like Ty Lawson was like, oh, does Pablo get fined now? Like, you dumbass. Yeah, you dumbass. This isn't about Kawhi, it's about Steve Ballmer.

That's where you get like Jeff Teague last week's like, Why is Pablo a pocket watch and Kawhi? Like, you stupid.

It's not about— you know what it's like? You guys ever seen the movie American Gangster with Denzel Washington?

Love American Gangster. Love that scene where he kills Stringer. Oh my God.

Crazy.

What a scene.

And he gives a tip to him too.

Great movie.

You got your tip jar?

It's based on real live gangster Frank Lucas, who had the biggest heroin operation in the United States during the Vietnam War, right? And so it's like, it would be like watching American Gangster and saying, why is Russell Crowe hating on T.I.? T.I.'s like the nephew who's like, yeah, he's in trouble.

Had a good arm too. Should've played for the Yankees.

Should've played for the Yankees, but he wanted to be like Uncle Frank.

He wanted to be, yeah, wanted to be gangster. I wanna be like you, Uncle Frank.

But anyway, like imagine watching that movie and like the whole apparatus is like, we gotta catch Frank Lucas. And what, but watching that movie through the lens of like, T.I., man, they're all trying to take T.I. down. You can't be this— but again, it speaks to the mentality of the player. They always look at things through a player lens, where it's like, "Oh my God, why— they're all trying to get us!" And I'm like, "No, man, take the blinders off.

There's something bigger that's happening around you." So this was not the only story involving an LA team yesterday.

Oh my gosh. Wait, if we could, before we get too far removed, because this is super important. The Hartford Courant was the impetus for this entire game. And I know you fellas in there are big, strong allies of women's professional sports. And given the discourse, I think we should flash that. It's time to play a new game. Yeah. Yeah. NWSL team or small local paper? Wow.

Yeah.

Wow. Wait, listen to the music. Yeah, I like this. It's like an '80s thing going.

All right, boys.

Uh-huh.

First one. Kansas City Current.

Oh, I recuse myself.

All right. Small paper. I think that's an NWSL team, but Current is spelled differently than the Hartford Current.

That you have to assume.

You have to assume which one. Yes. Kansas City Current team.

I think. It's an NWSL team.

Wow. I follow them on Instagram. That's how I know. Wow. So it's C-U-R-R-E-N-T.

The Chicago Defender.

Oh, oh, wow.

I'm going to say small local paper.

Small local paper. Yeah, I happen to know— I'm bad to play this game because I know a lot of newspaper names. That's a Chicago— I think it's a Black-owned. It's a Black—

yeah, it's a Black paper.

Yeah, it's a Black paper. Yeah, the Black internet. Boston Legacy. Oh, shit.

I don't know that as either.

Like, I'm not doing that to you. This is either an NWSL team or a small local paper.

I'm going to say team.

I'm going to say NWSL team.

I'll say paper. It is a team.

Yeah.

3 for 3. The San Diego Wave.

Now, that's a team, man. No, no. Who's reading The Wave? I'm not reading The Wave.

The Wave sounds like it could be a student newspaper from a college. Pepperdine, maybe, but not small local paper.

Small local paper or NWSL team?

I'm going to go small local paper.

I think it could be a student-run paper.

I'll go team. It is a team. Yeah.

4 for 4. Kansas City Pitch.

I'm going to say— they have a name for either. Yes. Yes. First of all. Yeah. Like you can't be a team named The Pitch. People are running all over you then.

It's a paper. You already named the Kansas City Currents.

It's a huge soccer town.

There's going to be 2 NWSL teams in Saint City. No, remember there's two Kansas Cities, one in Kansas and one in Missouri. Yeah, I'm going paper.

Team. It's a paper. Yeah, 5 for 5. Denver Summit. Shit.

Shit. I don't know what it is either. Shit.

I'm going team. Yeah, I'm going NWSL team.

I'll go paper then. Denver Summit FC. Yes! Yep. That concludes NWSL team or small local paper.

I love the NWSL.

What a game. Love it. Dan Levitar. Put a finger in there, but if you tell anyone, I'll deny it. Mike Ryan. Don't just stare at it, eat it. This is the Dan Levitar Show. So if one story out of Los Angeles wasn't enough, we got another big one yesterday also. We all know at this point that the Los Angeles Lakers last week— I broke the news right here, uh, Zaslo had it first, Prof Zaslo. I broke the news last week that the Los Angeles Lakers are being sold again for the second time in 14 months.

You mean you broke it on the show? Yeah, to the show.

What, so you don't think anyone understood? People were confused with that? Yes, of course. And yesterday you get the report from Shams Charania Actually, I should read it the way that he put it out. Yes, for accuracy. Maker created. Yeah. So Shams Rania, then he posted yesterday. Let's see. No breaking. The Buss family has decided to sell Toledo Blade. The Buss family has decided to sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new owner— new owners Josh Kushner, Bob Iger, Sources tell ESPN the Bus family trust, composed of siblings Jeannie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey, and Jesse— boy, I mean, all the J— uh, received majority votes to allow trustees to execute the sale. It required 4 of 6 votes to enact the tag-along provision of Mark Walder's— Walter's sale to Kushner and Iger, valued at $12.5 billion. But then, and, and he adds on to it, once the transaction is completed— this is the important part— once the transaction is completed, Jeanie Buss will no longer be allowed to be the governor of the Lakers because in order— NBA guidelines require the governor of the team, that's the person who makes the decisions, the governor of the team has to have at least a 15% ownership stake.

And so she would not be able to stay on, which we know is very important to her and was probably very important to her father as well before he passed away. But then we start to get conflicting reports here. We get a "not so fast, my friend" from Lee Corso somewhere. And apparently, well, Jeanne Busse's lawyer is contending that the Busse siblings leaked information to Shams Charania to make it sound one way when they believe this isn't even legal, what they're trying to do right now.

Yes. Basically Jeanine's lawyers saying, hey, she has a provision that maintains that she must have 15% in order to continue to be the governor, right? Once that statute of limitations expires or whatever, then that happens, but basically doesn't happen without her veto. In essence, she can veto any sale because any sale would drop her below that threshold. And they're contending that that stipulation in the contract, that she must maintain the ownership required in order to be governor, supersedes any tag-along. And so we're in for a legal battle between the Bus kids once again. It seems like they're all in court, and that's, that's the legacy of Dr. Jerry Bus is to have children fighting against one another. Sad.

Which is like literally what the entire show Succession was.

Yes, this is Succession, right? Including—

meets Winning Time. Yeah, meets Winning Time.

Yeah, I don't see the Winning Time connection.

They own the rights to both. They can microwave it easily.

Now, did they need to vote unanimous for this to sell? She needs—

they cannot sell without her go-along.

So then why in Shamshirani's original report it says they had the majority, 4 out of 6 votes needed?

Because they're saying the tag-along. That's what they're saying. They're saying the tag-along supersedes— What does that mean? Well, the tag-along says if the team sells, we can then, like, if the majority guy sells his part, we can then tag along with the sale at that valuation and cash out. Okay. So they're saying, oh, Mark Walter sold, so here we go, we're enacting the tag-along so that we can come in on this $12.5 billion.

And for that they only need majority?

Yes, except for the fact that Jeanie has that part. So for instance—

Except that Jeanie has it in her contract that she gets to remain on no matter what.

Exactly. So, so if Jeannie, you're saying why would they even have that? Which means you can't sell. If it was Jeannie by herself saying, oh yeah, let's go ahead and go on with this sale, but the other 5 said, no, no, we like being minority owners of the Lakers, of our dad's team, then she couldn't do that because that, she doesn't have the power to overwhelm them and go tag along on the sale. But, so she would need the majority. But the flip side is, even if it's 5 out of 6, If the 6th is Jeannie, Jeannie's contending because she's the one who has it in her contract.

But all this seems sloppy. So help me see the bigger picture here, because this deal famously came together in like 2 phone calls. Yeah, 2.

You've never seen a team sold multiple times quicker.

Right. And this seems to be a pretty big loose end. You don't want the family drama out there.

You know what happens to loose ends, right? Okay. I'm saying.

All right. Sopranos, along with Big Time and Succession.

Right, all three together, all owned by the same company. But this is playing out in public, you know, it's kind of messy. I'm a new owner, I just spent $12.5 billion, and this family drama is playing out because of these actions. Why wouldn't I just stay the course with Las Vegas? Why do I need this headache?

Well, there's two things. Number one is Las Vegas and expansion is— it appears those prices are going up and up. And, and again, I keep telling everybody To build in Las Vegas, you have to build an arena, which means you have to be able to have dates filled up on non-game nights. That's how you pay for arenas, right? And so you're talking about a market that is the most saturated when it comes to 12,000 to 15,000-seat venues, right? Like, they've got a gajillion of them. So to me, Vegas is always gonna be like an uphill battle as far as maintaining whatever. But the flip side is the Lakers, Mike, is like, I don't have to establish a brand, I don't have to come up with a logo, I don't have to sell people or tell them—

No doubt, that's why a premium is attached. Absolutely. As many hurdles as there would be with an expansion team in Las Vegas, it's a cheaper price tag than the golden Los Angeles Lakers, dude.

But it's turnkey. Like, even if you— like, whatever that price tag is, you then have to do this uphill battle of Hey, I know you guys have the Raiders and the things and the things, but like, I'm here too, please pay attention to me.

Yeah, but that's why the price tag would be lower, because you have to do all those headaches.

Sure, sure. So, but you're saying why— this home is moving ready. Why wouldn't— why wouldn't I— you're saying why wouldn't I just stick with the expansion? I'm like, because this is better.

It's better. It's more expensive.

If it's available, it's more expensive, but it's better.

Okay, but now I got this family drama out there.

Well, let's see, this is the part where some would say, oh my God, the family drama, this is bad PR. Some would. You know who wouldn't? Probably Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, because now it's like, yeah, talk about the buses over there. Yeah. Oh my God, that family is a mess. Oh my God. Can you believe Dr. Jerry would be rolling in his grave and all that? That means they're not talking about me.

I think Mark Walter probably loves it the most.

Mark Walter's like, they're not talking about my— Josh Kushner, maybe. Josh Kushner, like, they're not talking about my brother. Like, Bob Iger's like, yeah, they're not talking about me in bed with, with, uh, with big DJT.

You know who else likes this? Steve Ballmer likes this because it's taking a little heat off him. Of course. I think there's a phone call between one LA and the other LA. Hey, Jeannie, Steve, how about you throw a fake grenade into this sale? Take a little heat off me. Have everybody talking about the other— LeBron's game gone. Have everybody talking about the other team in town instead of Ballmer.

Local media, at least at the very least, because they love talking about the Buss family and the Buss family drama. That is what's going to be the most salacious headline. That's going to be what's the most interesting part here.

And you know what's funny? I've already seen it again from media people. Again, I'm not talking about jemokes on the internet. I'm talking about people who are employed to write about the NBA saying, well, this Mark Walter, Jeannie Buss thing is way more interesting than the Steve Ballmer thing. Like, really?

You think that? So who said that? Name names. I don't need to name names.

So in the 72 hours this deal came together, yeah, from what Ramona told us, Bob Iger, Josh Kushner, they've made a lot of money, they're pretty bright guys. They had to have known about this loose end when it came to the Bus family. There's a chance that they were like, well, that could be good for us.

Well, I— look, here's the thing. It really does not impact their angle, right? Because whether the Buses sell, tag along, or don't tag along, they're buying the majority stake. They're buying Mark Walter's stake, and so they'll own it. And the— like, now Bob Iger has said— and you said Bob Iger made a lot of money, Greg. You know how he made all that money? Disney. There you go. Iger. There it is. So the bus thing, at best, it is a great distraction from what looks like a very unconventional sale. Let's say that. I think we can call it— it's unconventional that the crown jewel in sports brands gets sold over 2 phone calls over 72 hours without any other competing bids. At worst, yes, that's like the cost of buying the team. Okay, so now I have to deal with the Bus kids arguing and fighting, but it's like it really does not impact the progress of, of history, right? The march of progress. It's like, I own the team. That's all he cares about.

Can I read this statement here also, which I thought had some interesting wording here? This statement is from the Bus family to ESPN. Yeah. Yesterday.

Okay. And this came out before we learned about Jeanie. Yes, this was like the statement that, that came out with the initial breaking news, because I think I know the quote that you're about to read here, and my head kind of turned like a curious dog. I'm like, that's interesting wording.

So pay specific attention to the last line that I'm gonna read you here in this statement from the Buss family. Quote, we have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger Group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles, but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can. What? While we still can.

Two interesting things about that headline: while we still can. Oh boy.

Gracefully while we still can. Like, what's about to happen that is gonna prevent you from exiting gracefully?

Yeah, I was like, I didn't think there was an issue, but now I do. And number two is just the Ager Group, huh? Yeah, that's what we're calling it.

Where am I? Thrive Capital. Okay, cool.

Thrive Eternal. Eternal, my bad.

So it could be read that you, based on the things that you just pointed out, that the Bus siblings are trying to say we, we think that there is something shady going on with this sale, who it's being sold from, and maybe who it's being sold to.

I don't know. I'm not gonna make any of those leaps. Of why they would word it that way. Is it because of the sale? What about the sale?

But it's purposely worded that way.

It is worded. It's a red flag.

While we still can. Massive red flag.

What is happening? What— but this is, this is— now I'm beginning to lean— I'm not all the way over on your side, Zazz, but I'm leaning towards your side. Or it's like, Commissioner Silver, get control of your league. I mean, like, think about all the things in the last 12 months, right? Gambling scandal, Massive cap circumvention. An owner who bought a team on money that he clearly did not have.

Cap circumvention scandal allegations. Scandal. Yes. Yes.

I'm naming scandals. And the— your sister league that you're supposed to, you know, oversee is kind of a mess there.

But their stuff is like regular Tuesday kind of problems, right? Like, oh, they hate this player. Like, oh my God. How adorable. None of that impacts the integrity of the business. The things I'm talking about, that's the integrity of your game. Whether players are playing for real or not, or, you know, basically throwing games, whether there are teams that are operating outside of the contract, the collective bargaining agreement, to sign players, whether the people buying your teams are qualified and vetted to buy teams, whether their sales are above board.

I brought this up last week, like Who you letting into your league, man? Who you letting into your league?

This is Game of Thrones. This is absolutely Game of Thrones. And if you're sitting around worried about like player type stuff, you're basically worried about the people of Flea Bottom where the House Martell and the House Lannister and the House Stark, that's where it's happening. The House Buss and the House Walter and the House Kushner. Right? And the House balmer. That's where the stuff is happening. And meanwhile, you're over here worried about like, oh my God, did you hear what happened at King's Landing? Yeah, they raised taxes again.

Like, that's so small potatoes. It does lack the leadership. Even, even the WNBA one is another example where a stronger leader has the foresight to get out in front of all of this. Again, Mike Bass's statement was very strongly worded. And it's not like they don't know that ESPN's article at some point is going to get published. How you don't get in front of that and avoid the optics of that— your league partner ESPN doing reporting in a day and age where everyone is questioning their reporting, especially on this story. Sloppy shop. And then you have this going on with the Lakers stuff. Unless what Amin said is true, that the league and the prospective Iger Group realize that this is actually good for us. This conversation, this family drama, is a welcome distraction from all the other calamities. The Lexington Herald-Leader.

It's kind of sad when you think about it though, like Dr. Jerry Buss definitely will be so sad the way things are playing out, right?

Embarrassed. It's a shame. Yeah, embarrassed. It really is. It's a shame. I mean, I leave and you kids can't handle anything.

I mean, he kind of Horatio'd from CSI: Miami, that whole thing.

Put on his sunglasses and walked away while it was exploding. I mean, like, yeah, like, um, Genie, I want you to run the team, but not the basketball side. I don't think a woman could do that. Like, what? That's, that's, I mean, and then the Who blares in the background while he's walking away.

He definitely had a will that when it was being read was like, ah, like he probably got a kick out of it.

The Filippi Barbour Democrat. Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer.

There's a franchise out there called the Tampa Bay Sun. I don't know what you do with that. I could be both.

Maybe it is both. Maybe the players write for the newspaper.

That would be funny. Favorable stories? Second job. You got your tip jar?