The NBA’s Kawhi Leonard saga finally ended Wednesday, and the punishment landed hard on the Clippers.
Los Angeles was hit with the loss of five first-round picks - in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 - after the league concluded its investigation into the no-show endorsement deal tied to the fraudulent company Aspiration. The Clippers were also fined $30 million, and several prominent figures in the organization, including owner Steve Ballmer, were temporarily suspended.
The biggest blow, though, is the draft capital. That’s the part that leaves a franchise pinned in place, and it’s exactly the kind of problem the Minnesota Timberwolves know all too well.
Back in 2000, the Wolves were stripped of five first-round picks after they circumvented the cap with Joe Smith. The setup was different - Minnesota paid Smith through three one-year deals while promising a larger payday later - but the result was the same: a major penalty for trying to work around the salary cap. The NBA did eventually return two of those picks, but the damage was already done.
For Minnesota, that mistake helped shrink the team’s options around Kevin Garnett. The Wolves made a conference finals run in 2004, but the era never fully clicked, and Garnett was traded in 2007. They didn’t get back to the playoffs until 2018.
The Clippers are now staring at their own version of that problem, only with a different ending point in mind. With a trade already in place for Kawhi to go to the Toronto Raptors, the organization looked ready to lean into a rebuild. That’s a lot easier to say than to execute when the cupboard is bare.
Right now, Los Angeles only controls a 2027 first-round pick swap, which is the second most favorable among three teams, the least favorable pick between them and Philadelphia in 2029, and the Raptors’ picks in 2031 and 2033. That’s all they have from now through 2033.
That kind of setup makes team-building miserable. Keaton Wagler has star upside, but he’s a rookie, and building around him without picks would be a major challenge. Darius Garland and Brandon Ingram are talented, but the source material here makes clear the expectation that they wouldn’t bring much back on the open market.
So the Clippers are left in a tough spot: not quite ready to contend, not equipped to rebuild cleanly, and short on the kind of draft assets that make either path easier. For Timberwolves fans, the whole thing has an all-too-familiar ring to it.
In Other News...
Wolves GM Just Raised Big Questions About Two Core Decisions
Matt Lloyds latest comments offered a fairly clear snapshot of how Minnesota is trying to balance the present with the future. The Timberwolves GM talked up the arrival of forward Cody Williams as a player whose defensive versatility could fit multiple lineups, and he also addressed the signing of Jonathan Kuminga while touching on LaMelo Balls work ethic since joining the team and Ayo Dosunmus expected role in the rotation. Along the way, Lloyd also praised Anthony Edwards growth as a leader, a reminder that the Wolves are still trying to build around their young centerpiece even as they keep adding pieces around him.
The bigger long-range questions, though, remain tied to the rosters veteran core and one injured wing whose path back is still uncertain. Lloyd discussed Donte DiVincenzos rehabilitation from a torn Achilles and the teams approach to extensions for DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, leaving the timing of those decisions very much open. For a Wolves team trying to stay competitive without boxing itself in, those calls could shape not just this season, but the one after it as well. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Face One Huge Rotation Question In Their New-Look Lineup
The Timberwolves reshaped roster has pushed Chris Finch into one of the more interesting lineup puzzles of the offseason. After trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid for LaMelo Ball and adding Jonathan Kuminga on a two-year contract, Minnesota suddenly has a different kind of top-end talent mix, and the early question is how all the pieces fit without disrupting the balance that made the group work.
Kumingas willingness to embrace a complementary role could make that transition easier, but the bigger challenge may be finding the right rhythm for Ball in a system that will need both creativity and structure. Finch now has to decide how to keep the offense flowing, manage the workload of his new point guard and still leave enough room for Anthony Edwards to stay at the center of the teams identity. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Just Made A Cap Bet On One Young Roster Holdover
The Timberwolves have spent the offseason trying to thread a very specific financial needle, and it led them to clear room below the second apron by moving Josh Green to the Jazz and waiving and stretching John Konchars contract. Those moves opened the door to sign Jonathan Kuminga to a two-year, $12.4 million deal while also keeping Cody Williams in the fold, a reminder that every roster decision now comes with a cap-side consequence.
Williams is the younger holdover Minnesota chose to protect as it sorted through the back end of the roster, even if the choice came with dead money spread across the next three years. The appeal is straightforward enough for a team that values flexibility on defense: Williams gives the Wolves a more useful long-term piece than Konchar, and the front office made its bet accordingly while accepting a short-term hit to preserve that option. [Read more 🡒]