The Clippers’ path out of their Kawhi Leonard mess may be as simple as embracing another team’s headache.
After being docked five future first-round picks, LA is staring at a stripped-down draft cupboard and a narrow set of options. One of the few ways to rebuild that stockpile, according to recent reports, could be by taking on unwanted money from the Milwaukee Bucks - specifically Myles Turner or Kyle Kuzma - if the price is right.
The Bucks have spent all summer trying to move both players, and the Clippers should be ready to move if Milwaukee gets desperate enough to attach draft compensation. That could mean a first-round pick, or at the very least multiple second-rounders coming back to LA. Either way, the logic is the same: turn cap clutter into future assets.
There’s also a longer play here. At best, the Clippers could help Turner or Kuzma rebuild some trade value and later flip them for more. At worst, they still come away with picks, which is exactly what they need after the Leonard punishment tore through their draft capital.
Milwaukee’s roster situation makes the idea possible. Last summer, the Bucks waived and stretched Damian Lillard and signed Turner in free agency in an effort to satisfy Giannis Antetokounmpo. That didn’t work out too well.
Then came this summer, when the Bucks traded Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. With that move, Turner is now essentially expendable. Kuzma is in the same bucket after Milwaukee acquired him for Khris Middleton in another attempt to help Antetokounmpo.
Now the Bucks are trying to avoid a roster crunch, and Turner and Kuzma are the pieces they’re shopping.
The problem for Milwaukee is that it doesn’t have a ton of first-round picks left after spending most of them over the years to build around Antetokounmpo. The Bucks did receive some picks from the Heat this summer, though, and if they get desperate enough to unload Turner or Kuzma’s big contracts, they might be willing to part with a first or a bundle of seconds.
If that door opens, the Clippers should walk through it. Their best move right now may be the ugly one: take on a bad deal, collect draft picks, and start repairing the damage done by the Leonard punishment.
In Other News...
Bill Simmons Picked A Fight Over A Clippers Commitment He Wants Out Of
Bill Simmons has turned a routine team-business gripe into a public dispute with a media outlet. After discussing on his podcast that he wants out of a five-year season-ticket deal with the Clippers, Simmons took aim at Dan Le Batard and Awful Announcing for covering the segment, tying his frustration to the NBAs penalty against the team for salary-cap violations.
The situation leaves Simmons in an awkward spot because the contract was entered into when the Clippers moved into the Intuit Dome, and the reporting around it suggests the club is highly unlikely to let him walk away. For now, the question is whether he can actually get out of the agreement or whether he remains on the hook for the rest of it, which is exactly the part he seems most eager to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi Leonard Debate Is Back And Clippers Fans Know Why
Draymond Green jumped in to defend Kawhi Leonard after Danilo Gallinaris recent criticism, brushing aside the idea that Leonard was the one moving pieces around in the Clippers front office. Greens point was simple enough: Leonard was a player, not the person with the authority to trade anyone, and the renewed debate has put an old Clippers topic back in the spotlight. For a fan base that has lived through plenty of roster drama, it is another reminder of how much scrutiny comes with every decision made around Leonard.
The bigger issue is not whether Leonard signed off on transactions in a formal sense, but how much influence he really had when the Clippers were shaping the roster during that offseason. Even now, the conversation keeps circling back to those choices and what they meant for the franchises future. If nothing else, the reaction shows this is still one of the most sensitive subjects around Leonard and the Clippers, and it is not going away quietly. [Read more 🡒]