The Clippers are staring at a brutal reset after being punished in the cap circumvention case tied to Kawhi Leonard, and the damage is already clear: five first-round picks and $30 million gone. That kind of hit doesn’t just sting in the moment - it drags a franchise backward, and there’s no simple fix waiting around the corner.
Bill Simmons floated one possible escape hatch on a recent podcast, and it starts with a bold swing involving Darius Garland and the San Antonio Spurs. His idea: Los Angeles would send Garland to San Antonio, then get De’Aaron Fox and draft capital back in return.
“De’Aaron Fox is starting a four-year, $221 million deal,” said Simmons on his podcast. “If I’m the Clippers, I’m at least calling the Spurs and being like, ‘Yo, we have Garland, we love him.
But if you want to talk about flipping four years of Fox for two years of Garland, and throwing some of your stuff at us, we’re happy to have the conversation.’ And then if you’re the Spurs, you’re like, ‘Well, we messed up this Fox thing.
We didn’t realize we were gonna get Harper when we did the wink-wink with the Fox extension. We are gonna have money to pay Wemby and Castle, and eventually Harper.
Could Garland be a two-year stopgap now instead of four, and could we use some of our picks and other stuff to basically get out of those last two years?’”
That kind of deal would also fit into where the Clippers are right now. They’ve already finalized the Kawhi Leonard trade and came away with multiple picks, which doesn’t erase the punishment but at least gives them something to work with. Garland would be one of their best chips beyond Brandon Ingram, and moving him could bring back more draft help if the Spurs were interested.
San Antonio’s side of the equation is messy in a different way. Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper are all in the same backcourt picture, and there isn’t enough room for everyone.
Harper’s play in the last playoffs only sharpened the questions around Fox, especially with Fox still owed four years and $221 million. That contract makes him expensive to keep if the fit isn’t clean.
Garland would change that timeline. He has two years left, which means San Antonio would be done with his deal by the summer of 2028. That shorter commitment could give the Spurs more flexibility and even open the door to another move for wing help later on.
From the Clippers’ point of view, landing Fox plus whatever picks come attached would at least give them a cleaner path forward. Garland isn’t a direct upgrade over Fox, but he is a productive young guard who has posted career averages of 18.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field.
However it plays out, the Clippers are in a spot where every option has to be considered. The road back is steep, and nothing looks off the table as they try to stay competitive while reshaping what comes next.
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