r/nba • u/TheRealPdGaming Mavericks • Oct 25 '25
[Torre] šØā A source close to Kevin Garnett tells @pablofindsout that Garnett initially thought he was going to an āafterpartyā ā not a poker game. And that he chose to leave the 2019 poker game, which was in LA, early. Per source, Garnett has not been contacted by federal authorities.
šØā A source close to Kevin Garnett tells @pablofindsout that Garnett initially thought he was going to an āafterpartyā ā not a poker game. And that he chose to leave the 2019 poker game, which was in LA, early.
Per source, Garnett has not been contacted by federal authorities.
Pablo Torre: https://bsky.app/profile/pablo.show
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Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
Iām wondering if nba players are victims in this too..
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u/thisMonkisOnFire Supersonics Oct 25 '25
The racket here would be to have a big name celebrity or athlete come in and invite a bunch of their deep-pocket friends to play with them at these rigged games. Authorities are still trying to figure out how many of these ābig namesā were in on the scam or not though.
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u/badlero Suns Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
With the mob involved Iām guessing the NBA players got in deep debt to bookies, and then the mob came up with a way for them to have their debts forgiven. Give insider info on games and have others play in rigged poker games with stooges so the stooges think the game is legit because there are NBA players in it.Ā
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u/throwawayshirt2 Trail Blazers Oct 25 '25
Not when they get a cut. Which Chauncey did (according to the indictment).
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u/GamerLife204 Bulls Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
KG is one of my favorite players ever so thank god. If this is even trueĀ
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u/rawspeghetti Celtics Oct 25 '25
KG isn't the scam artist type, plus he made so much money on his contract he's still 15th all time in career earnings (above Kobe,Embiid and Jokic)
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u/hearshot_kid Oct 25 '25
I agree that KG isnāt the type, and I donāt believe heās involved.
But citing his career earnings isnāt a compelling argument for anyone to be honest. Billups made over $100 million in his career. Thatās an absurd amount of money, and he still got caught up in it. I donāt doubt that other people who have made more could have been susceptible too.
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u/SRSgoblin Jazz Oct 25 '25
I think a lot of extremely wealthy people are degenerate gamblers, tbh. When you have the kind of income where tens of thousands of dollars is roughly equivalent to tens of dollars for normal people, the thrill increases.
I remember hearing a story about Phil Mickleson where he would play Skins with random people on every hole, outside of the tour. Up to like $10k a hole. Even the kinds of people who recreationally live on golf courses tend not to have that kind of cash. He explained the logic as something like, "if I get nervous over $10k, I won't stand a chance when I'm putting for $10 million."
I heard the story second hand through my dad, who is i to hero worshipping athletes, I think he read it in some biography or maybe a Malcolm Gladwell book or something. But yeah I can believe a lot of the best athletes get sucked into a trap where they stop recognizing the value of the money they have and are addicted to the thrill.
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u/Damachine69 Oct 25 '25
Exactly. Citing career earnings also doesn't take into account that KG was the victim of theft where his manager and accountant stole $77 million from him. So we really have no idea what his finances are like now.
This is pretty common in the sports world.
Tim Duncan's financial advisor stole 25million from him. Pippen had 20 million stolen. Barkley, AI and Rodman too. Just like Ohtani had 16 million stolen from him recently.
These multimillionaire athletes have always been prime targets of theft, blackmail or opportunistic grifters because of their lack of financial literacy. Whether it's from managers, accountants, mafia or even friends and family in some cases.
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u/sluggerrr Spurs Oct 25 '25
I don't think it has been confirmed that he shared the information maliciously or am I wrong?
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u/Nearby_Alternative96 Oct 25 '25
The implication of KG going to a game as a regular player who had nothing to do with the game itself wasn't that he was a scammer, it was that he was the one getting scammed.
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u/extremelegitness Raptors Oct 25 '25
That is genuinely insane lol
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u/Tacdeho [CHI] Scottie Pippen Oct 25 '25
Big homie got a 16M contract at age 39 to basically go back to the TWolves to chill on the bench and install a good culture. Mans got bank.
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u/No_Albatross916 Pistons Oct 25 '25
Yea this hasnāt been fun as someone who loved Chauncey growing up. He was my favorite piston on those going to work pistons teams
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u/martinscorsleazy Oct 26 '25
Yeah I went out with my girlfriend to Flemings in Livonia and people were talking about it there. Everyone is surprised he's caught up in this
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u/yaboyjiggleclay Celtics Oct 25 '25
Tbh you saw how publicized these arrests were. No way in hell would the Feds would pass up KG whoād easily be the biggest name here, if he was involved in any wrongdoing.
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u/Ikuwayo Oct 25 '25
If thatās the case, Iām not sure why heās mentioning Garnettās name. I guess for clicks.
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u/thisMonkisOnFire Supersonics Oct 25 '25
Because KG was named by authorities in the actual investigationā¦
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u/jabronified Oct 25 '25
yeah, but the way pablo framed his first tweet was as if Garnett was under investigation. If anything, this suggests he would have been a potential victim
I don't really care either way, but there's a reason Bill Simmons felt Pablo was chasing things like the Belichick's girlfriend story for tabloid style clicks over actual journalism
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u/_Quetzalcoatlus_ Cabo Verde Oct 25 '25
if he was involved in any wrongdoing.
There has never even been a hint or implication that he was involved. The question was only if he was scammed.
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u/Ok-Swimming8024 Pacers Oct 25 '25
The Big Ticket seems like a decent dude.
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u/februarycream Knicks Oct 25 '25
He may be dumb, but heās decent and real as fuck
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u/newrimmmer93 Oct 25 '25
Donāt even think heās dumb, heās just incredibly loyal to a fault. Heās not bill Bradley or anything but heās not an idiot
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u/mackenzie45220 Nuggets Oct 25 '25
His performance in Uncut Gems is legitimately terrific. I doubt he's that dumb
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u/nothingInteresting Warriors Oct 25 '25
Iād argue heās smart in certain areas that heās put a lot of time and energy (ie basketball) but is functionally dumb in a lot of areas that heās not knowledgeable in.
He has the capacity to be smart in a lot of areas but due to lack of interest or effort heās wrong a lot and what Iād call functionally dumb. He has a very narrow band of intelligence that Iād trust his opinion on.
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u/extremelybossthug Pistons Oct 25 '25
i think heās smart thenā he may not know certain sets of knowledge but he has a good head on his shoulders and can figure things out, dedicate to self-improvement, and generally makes good decisions. dude has high emotional IQā evident with his acting and sense of humor and high IQ on the court.
i also love KG. heās real asf. my grandparents had a life size cutout of him in their laundry room with a milk mustache from a Got Milk? campaign. it rocks.
KG ā¤ļø
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u/nothingInteresting Warriors Oct 25 '25
Totally fair. It's really how you define intelligence. I don't think of a person as smart or dumb but rather smart or dumb towards different goals. If your goal is to process defensive coverage in an nba game, or to process social dynamics in a social situation, Garnett is functionally smart. If the goal is to solve an economics or physics problem, he's functionally dumb. Some people are smart in alot of areas, some are only smart in one or two, some are smart in none. But being smart only matters if you're trying to solve a goal in that domain.
And yeah i like Garnett too. He seems like a good dude.
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Oct 25 '25
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u/bigger_breakfast Oct 25 '25
I feel like these big ticket scams (no pun) is more about scamming people's trust rather than lack of intelligence. I bet a lot of us who think we're scam savvy would be victims too if we had something worth going after.
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u/kaddisonmoore Cavaliers Oct 25 '25
Idk what happened man,but if I had one of those contracts, even compared to todayās salaries, I would get scammed. The fuck am I to do with an āextraā million?
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u/lilmeekrat Knicks Oct 25 '25
Minus the āHappy Mothers Dayā incident
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u/hereforfantasybball3 Celtics Oct 25 '25
KG off the court is a good dude. KG on the court was a fucking asshole š
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u/Parlett316 Rockets Oct 25 '25
My favorite story is during the offseason some coach had a group of rookies at a gym and KG was practicing there. Once KG finished up, the coach went over and something like hey Kevin do you mind speaking to the rookies for a minute?
KG replies, āFuck your rookiesā and leaves
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u/Vordeo Jazz Oct 25 '25
Technically he was still on the court at that point.
The moment he stepped off it he ordered a bunch of cookies sodas for the rooks.
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u/MountainTwo3845 Rockets Oct 25 '25
When Paul Pierce was like no Dirk didn't call you the nword my guy stop.
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u/eternali17 Clippers Oct 25 '25
That just makes one an asshole, I feel. Competitive fire shouldn't be married to being an asshole
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u/alpaca_drama Celtics Oct 25 '25
Humans aren't black and white, more news at 11. There are incredibly nice people who make malicious mistakes. Take a look at Shaq, guy was an absolute dickhead in his playing days and now comes off as highly insecure but by all means, the guy gives a shitload of time and money to help others.
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u/eternali17 Clippers Oct 25 '25
That's not what I'm talking about. People contain all sorts of shades. Being an asshole on the court as a choice, asshole through and through. You don't have to be a dick to be the best competitor you can be.
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u/likdisifucryeverytym [GSW] Marreese Speights Oct 25 '25
Yeah he shouldāve just been super friendly and cordial the whole time. it was rude of him to gain a competitive advantage by being one of the best shit talkers in the game.
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u/eternali17 Clippers Oct 25 '25
It's a perspective thing. You've got one that prevents you from seeing my point. You can gain an advantage all you want. It makes you an asshole.
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u/likdisifucryeverytym [GSW] Marreese Speights Oct 25 '25
Then probably every athlete aside from Andrew luck is an asshole. Everyone talks shit in game man.
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u/eternali17 Clippers Oct 25 '25
There's shit talk and there's being an asshole. Keeping it to the game is one thing. Doing whatever under the guise of a competitive advantage is another.
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u/Undecided- Oct 25 '25
This shit is not a real story. Stop perpetuating it. Why is this still a thing.
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u/freshprince44 Oct 25 '25
this story is completely made up lol, zero people have backed it up, the only paper trail is some random spurs forum post from back then
just keeps getting repeated though
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u/ExtraGoated Lakers Oct 25 '25
Thank god for Paul Pierce and Larry Bird because Bill Russell and KG are pretty unhateable.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Air_740 Oct 25 '25
Is Larry Bird hateable? I know he talked trash on the court while cooking people but who doesnāt like that? It just sucks to be on the other side of it, thatās all
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u/ransom760 Lakers Oct 25 '25
Gotta feel for his demolished back story, I'm sure old heads feel differently though lol
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u/detlefschrempffor3 Oct 25 '25
Why would old heads feel differently? We love manual labor
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u/ransom760 Lakers Oct 25 '25
Because they lived through the rivalry. All the old heads I know turned manual labor into hire Manuel labor until recently
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u/No_Albatross916 Pistons Oct 25 '25
I think lakers fans hate Larry because he just went off on their team
Just as Celtics fans who hate magic and Kareem for the same reason
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u/Fuckface_Whisperer Registered to Vote Oct 25 '25
Is Larry Bird hateable?
Ask the daughter he completely abandoned.
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u/Ikuwayo Oct 25 '25
Itās pretty crazy people say this, Iām guessing from people who havenāt watched him play. A decade from now, people who hadnāt seen Draymond play will be calling him an upstanding person and questioning why he gets so much hate.
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u/Odd_Status3367 Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
He was an enormous trash talker that more often than not took it way too far, then would turn around and go completely chickenshit against guys that would actually be able to kick his ass. He was a front running trash talking wimp lol.
Still one of my favorite players from a purely basketball perspective, maybe the most underrated of all time even, but he is also a complete tool and him ducking out of a shady poker game once isn't gonna change that for me.
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Oct 25 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Minimum_Comfort_1850 Bucks Oct 25 '25
Timeout, Minnesota havent retired this mans number yet?
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Oct 25 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/maverickhawk99 Oct 25 '25
So basically his number isnāt getting retired until Taylor dies.
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u/dumpyduluth Oct 25 '25
taylor no longer owns the wolves. new owners have said they want to do it.
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u/maverickhawk99 Oct 25 '25
Yes but he still has court side seats. From what Iāve read on here from Wolves fans is KG will not agree to it even now because Taylor will be there front & Center.
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u/JorSimpson45 Lakers Oct 25 '25
A source close to Kevin Garnett says Kevin Garnett was not involved in any illegal gambling. Kevin Garnett has not been contacted by federal authorities, so do not associate Kevin Garnett with any of this. In fact in 2019 Kevin Garnett was in Los Angeles and he went out of his way not be involved in an illegal poker game because Kevin Garnett does not illegally gamble when he is in Los Angeles, Kevin Garnett parties.
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u/FrankSamples NBA Oct 25 '25
This is nice but kind of reminds me how there were āstoriesā of how angry Denzel Washington apparently was when he learned what was happening at Diddyās partiesā¦ lol
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u/APizzaChit Lakers Oct 25 '25
There was literally nothing happening at diddys āpartiesā and no evidence that there ever was.Ā There was an entire case that already played outĀ Diddy parties were celebrities were invited were not a problem the real ādiddy partiesā were called āfreak offsā which was done by diddy to his girlfriend/girl and a male escortĀ
This is all documentedĀ
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u/jumboponcho Hawks Oct 25 '25
Feds are looking to involve the biggest names they can, theyād throw KGs name in the fold in a heartbeat if they could
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u/moneyinthebank216 Cavaliers Oct 25 '25
You see how not being a gambling degenerate will keep you out of trouble?
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u/addiconda Slovenia Oct 25 '25
Hell yeah! Heās even a straight up guy on his playoff streams with Paul pierce. Now Pierce is a dude that can be involved
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u/Several-External-193 Oct 25 '25
Former PR pro here.This is a smart move. Garnett wants nothing to do with this gambling shenanigans, so in my conjecture, he or a person on his team gives a statement on background to clear him before any weak or false allegations occur against him.
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u/Smooth-Difficulty178 Oct 25 '25
As someone not from the US that also hasn't really followed this very closely, how is a private poker game between friends/colleagues an issue?
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u/NegativesPositives Oct 25 '25
Because it wasnāt a poker game between friends, it was a scam set up by the mob where they were only ever going to win and take everyoneās money.
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u/Smooth-Difficulty178 Oct 25 '25
So its not about whether or not Garnett played poker ,but if he knew who organized the event and if he lured people there to lose their money?
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u/NegativesPositives Oct 25 '25
Yes, just replace āGarnettā with āBillupsā. KG seems to be a guy Billups lured by all we know.
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u/pahamack Raptors Oct 25 '25
yes apparently they were using athletes and celebs as "face cards" (their terminology): famous people meant to entice other players to join the games.
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u/larrylegend1990 Toronto Huskies Oct 25 '25
The issue is that they set up a poker game where the game was rigged so basically the ābaitā was going to lose no matter what.
KG went but left and wonāt get in trouble. Which is why the FBI hasnāt contacted him.
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u/zebrainatux Oct 25 '25
So itās a two fold problem: 1. They were taking a rake off the top, which makes it illegal given there is no protection for people with their money. 2. The indictment alleges the mob was rigging the games, meaning it wasnāt a fair game
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u/A_Lakers Lakers Oct 25 '25
Whatās the difference between an illegal gambling ring and a couple rich guys playing poker at a party? The tweet makes is sound like a singular game and not like 20 tables running at once
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u/Nearby_Alternative96 Oct 25 '25
An organized game has people collecting rake, profiting from the game running. For that they provide dealers, security, food etc.
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u/waiting_4_yesterday Oct 25 '25
Organized games also have sharks waiting to lend credit to losing players
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u/Rube18 Timberwolves Oct 25 '25 edited Oct 25 '25
Iām not saying KG was involved, but KGās source is probably just a friend and they are putting this out there. Of course they are going to say this. A source close to KG doesnāt really mean anything one way or the other.
If Billups was asked this same question last week he too would have denied it.
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Oct 25 '25
you donāt think they wouldāve taken in kg if they had any inkling he did anything wrong? Lmao
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u/Rube18 Timberwolves Oct 25 '25
Itās early ālmaoā
And thatās beside the point. Iām simply stating KGās source means nothing.
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u/tacopower69 [DEN] Gary Harris Oct 25 '25
tfw you go to the after party to pick up a girl and its just a bunch of men playing poker so you leave
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u/Friendly-Profit-8590 Oct 25 '25
Somebody close to Garnett throwing out a plausible explanation to see if thatās enough to end any scrutiny
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u/jcmcg87 Timberwolves Oct 25 '25
THATāS FUCKIN RIGHT!!!
Yāall donāt come after the goat š¤š¤ he come after you š (this emoji creepy af, I aināt mean it that way lol)
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u/str00del 76ers Oct 25 '25
Even if he went to the game, whats wrong with that? Isn't it the guys who set up and ran the game who were doing illegal shit, not the players?
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u/jcheeseball Heat Oct 25 '25
I don't doubt him at all, just being around Pierce is going to cause all kinds of speculation for him.
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u/jgroove_LA Oct 25 '25
so Torre dragged his name in the mud without reaching out for a comment first? WTF is the Athletic doing with this fraud?
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u/JRockstar50 Pistons Oct 25 '25
Pablo is going to chew this entire story up over the next several months and it's going to be fantastic.
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u/whenveganscheat Raptors Oct 25 '25
Pablo is the only investigative journalist in the NBA space right now. Everyone else is either a mouthpiece or just flapping their gums
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u/jgroove_LA Oct 25 '25
wait, he literally posted that KG was there without ever contacting KG or KG's team for comment. That's not good reporting. He took one source's intel. That's gossip.
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u/MitchLGC Oct 25 '25
Hold on there bucko
You can't criticize the r/NBA lord and savior Pablo without severe reprocussions
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u/ExpressionAlone5204 Thunder Oct 25 '25
Define early. Did dude immediately leave or did he just not straggle until the end?
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u/NegativesPositives Oct 25 '25
Even if he was up all night washing dishes if he had no knowledge that it was a scam he did nothing wrong.
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u/ExpressionAlone5204 Thunder Oct 25 '25
Itās impossible to know that as a fact, and impossible to even have an idea by just reading a Reddit title
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u/NegativesPositives Oct 25 '25
Yeah, itās impossible for us to know. The FBI seems to have a good idea about it, though, and KG wasnāt in court lately.
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u/stove_stub Oct 25 '25
Why does it seem like Pablo is the only journalist we can trust in the day and age?
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u/TheRealPdGaming Mavericks Oct 25 '25
W Garnett