After reports suggested different time frames for when Kawhi Leonard's punishment would be announced, the day has finally come. The NBA has officially delivered a penalty to Leonard and the LA Clippers, and it’s nothing short of severe.
Leonard got off much lighter, paying only $700K in fines. Yet, the Clippers, on the other hand, have to cough up $30 million and an absurd five first-round picks, which is terrible news for the team’s future, considering they just entered a new era centered around youth.
Additionally, other parts of the punishment include a one-year suspension from basketball activities for Steve Ballmer, a one-year suspension without pay for Gillian Zucker, and a six-month suspension without pay for Lawrence Frank.
The consequences all around are a hammer, to say the least, and all Clippers Fans can really take away from this is that the drama is finally over.
The LA Clippers' future is in lots of trouble moving forward
Although the NBA's punishment includes several fines and suspensions, the biggest blow is the five first-round picks the LA Clippers will have to forfeit.
No matter how you look at it, the Clippers’ future is in deep trouble.
They won’t be able to use any of their first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033. That’s a lot of time the Clippers won’t have to maximize towards their future through the draft, which is something rebuilding teams in every sport look to do to make themselves better long-term.
Now, the question becomes: do the Clippers have possession of the picks they gained from the deals of Ivica Zubac and Kawhi Leonard?
At the moment, it looks like the Clippers will have to part ways with the 2029 Indiana Pacers’ first-round pick, but will still have the capital they’ve received from the Toronto Raptors.
This somewhat helps, because the swaps and unprotected picks involved could be extremely valuable when the time comes, given how the new lottery system is structured.
While that may slightly lessen the blow, the Clippers' future is still in a very bad spot. All they can really do is make smart moves with other teams to make up for some of their losses and hope the Raptors finish in a spot that helps LA.
Generally speaking, the news is unfortunate for Clipper Nation, as we were slowly starting to recover from the horrendous Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander trade in 2019.
Add us as a preferred source on Google