The NBA’s punishment of the Los Angeles Clippers over the Kawhi Leonard salary cap scandal landed with historic force, and the ripple effects go far beyond one franchise. The team was hit with the loss of four first-round picks, while owner Steve Ballmer was fined $30 million after the league said the Clippers broke its rules in signing Leonard to a four-year, $176 million extension in 2021.
That kind of blow creates clear winners and losers, and the biggest loser is the Clippers’ fan base. For supporters who were already waiting for a true turnaround, losing five first-rounders in consecutive seasons makes the road ahead look brutal.
Unless the front office pulls off something extraordinary, the franchise’s path back to contention now looks painfully long. Fans can still show up and watch games, and some of those nights will still end in wins, but the sense of hope has taken a major hit.
The fallout also plays directly into the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. The rest of the Western Conference may welcome the Clippers’ stumble, but the Lakers have the most to gain in their own city rivalry.
The Lakers will always be the bigger draw in Los Angeles, yet they have not always been the better team. With the Clippers now saddled with such a severe penalty, the balance of power in the rivalry could swing heavily toward the Lakers for years.
It also makes it far less likely that another top free agent like Leonard chooses the Clippers over the Lakers.
Leonard himself comes out of this looking worse, even if the punishment he received was relatively small. He was fined $700,000 for violating salary cap circumvention rules, a number that is about 43 times less than Ballmer’s fine, and he avoided suspension.
Still, the damage to his image is done. The former San Antonio Spurs star’s reputation was already uneven for a player of his stature, and this scandal only deepens that.
He may still be a Hall of Fame player, but he is not going to be embraced the way many other stars of his caliber are.
There is even a possible winner hiding in all of this: Darius Garland. He is still on the team for now, but the Clippers are reportedly looking to trade their point guard soon to recover draft capital after losing five first-round picks.
That could open the door for Garland to land in a better situation instead of staying stuck on a rebuilding roster after Leonard’s imminent departure. If that happens, he’ll have a pretty good reason to look back on this mess and thank Leonard next April.
In Other News...
Clippers Sanction Fallout Could Put A Key Piece In Play
The Clippers are suddenly in a more complicated place after the NBAs sanctions tied to Kawhi Leonards salary cap issues, and around the league that has opened the door to a familiar kind of speculation: if Los Angeles shifts from building mode to selling mode, who becomes available and who starts calling. For a team that had been trying to hold together a contender, the new uncertainty has already changed the conversation around the roster.
One name now being floated in those discussions is Darius Garland, with the Phoenix Suns among the teams watching closely because of how well he would fit their backcourt needs. There is also a familiar coaching link in the mix, since Suns coach Jordan Ott previously worked with Garland in Cleveland, which only adds to the sense that if the situation around the Clippers keeps moving in this direction, the chatter could get even louder. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi's Toronto Reunion Is Still Stuck For One Serious Reason
Kawhi Leonards path back to Toronto took a major legal step forward when the NBA finished its investigation into the Clippers handling of his contract, removing the threat of a suspension that had loomed over any reunion. The league still handed down significant penalties to Los Angeles, and the situation has left both sides in a holding pattern while the trade paperwork remains unresolved.
Even with Leonard cleared, the deal is not simply ready to roll. Toronto is said to be taking a harder look at the terms after the Clippers were hit with five first-round pick losses and a $30 million fine, while Los Angeles is planning to challenge the punishment. For now, neither team has said much publicly, and the most important part of the reunion still appears to be stuck behind what happens next. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers May Have Found The Frontcourt Fit They Were Missing
John Collins is gone after signing with the Detroit Pistons, but the Clippers may have answered one of their frontcourt questions with Rui Hachimura, a move that adds a very different kind of spacing to the rotation. Hachimura brings a reputation as a reliable perimeter threat, and the fit with Brook Lopez gives Los Angeles a pair of bigs who can pull defenses out of the paint and open up the floor in ways this roster needed.
Hachimuras shooting with the Lakers only strengthened that case, as he was efficient from deep throughout the season and then took it up another notch in the playoffs. For a Clippers team that has spent plenty of time searching for cleaner offensive balance around its stars, the hope is that this combination of size and shooting finally gives the frontcourt the right blend of toughness and room to operate. [Read more 🡒]