The NBA’s punishment of the Clippers landed hard on Wednesday, and the ripple effect could reach all the way to Portland.
Los Angeles was hit with a major penalty for violating the league’s salary cap circumvention rules. The organization lost five future first-round picks - 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 - was fined $30 million, and owner Steve Ballmer received a year-long suspension.
Kawhi Leonard was part of the case, but he avoided suspension and will instead pay $700,000. He is now expected to make his way to Toronto via trade, and ESPN’s Shams Charania reported there is a “full expectation” that the deal with the Raptors will now go through.
For the Clippers, the punishment is brutal, but it does not completely wipe out the possibility of a workable future. The team still has some pieces to build around, including a young backcourt outlook with Darius Garland and rookie Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft. Los Angeles also still controls Toronto’s unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 from the Leonard deal.
Even so, the roster has looked headed toward a reset for a while. The trio of James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac never seemed to offer a high enough ceiling in the Western Conference, and the Clippers appear to have been moving toward a rebuild regardless of how the league handled the Leonard situation.
The real question now is how Los Angeles finds enough draft capital to climb out of the hole. That makes Wagler a name to watch. If the Clippers want to restock quickly, trading the No. 5 pick could become part of the conversation.
That is where the Portland Trail Blazers come in. Portland has been steadily collecting assets and has the kind of draft stock that could interest a team staring at a long recovery.
The Blazers do not have to empty out every premium pick they own, including the Milwaukee Bucks selections they picked up in the Damian Lillard deal. But they do have plenty to work with, including their own picks and a 2028 first-rounder from Orlando.
No team wants to move on from a top-five pick so soon, especially after losing five future first-rounders. But that same reality may push the Clippers toward a deal if it helps them bring back multiple young assets. If their stance on Wagler has changed at all, Portland is the team worth calling first.
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What makes the conversation sting a bit more is what came right after Portlands pick. Amen Thompson, taken one slot later by the Houston Rockets, has already been rewarded with a lucrative long-term extension, a reminder of the talent the Blazers passed over and the kind of athletic two-way presence that could have changed the look of their roster. Whether Portland still feels confident in Henderson is one debate; the fact that Thompson is now locked in elsewhere only makes the alternative harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]