The NBA leveled an extraordinary punishment against the Los Angeles Clippers in a salary cap circumvention scheme, and in doing so, created a host of questions about what comes next for the team, its ownership and Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers vowed to vigorously fight the crackdown, but their options are limited.
The league's punishment included suspending owner Steve Ballmer for one year and ordering the team to forfeit five first-round draft picks
from 2029-2033 for violating salary cap circumvention rules in a case involving Leonard. In addition, the team was ordered to pay a $30 million fine, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was banned six months and team president of business operations Gillian Zucker was benched for one year.
The punishment comes after a nearly yearlong investigation. The Clippers say they will challenge the decision and pursue legal options, but the punishment leaves the organization in a state of flux moving forward.
Here's what to know:
The Clippers don’t have the option to file an internal appeal. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s ruling on salary cap circumvention is final, according to league bylaws. That means the Clippers' most likely course of action is to sue the NBA in federal court. That could get messy. However, it appears Ballmer, a former CEO of Microsoft whose net worth is valued at more than $156 billion per Forbes, appears ready for a fight. The Clippers issued a statement Wednesday vowing to “vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us” and explore “every legal remedy to address this gross injustice.” The Clippers could file an injunction in court in an attempt to keep their top personnel working with the club. There's also a chance Ballmer could attempt to negotiate with Silver behind the scenes on a lesser penalty, although it's uncertain if Silver would budge on his ruling.
The team will run the organization through lower-level executives not found to be involved in the circumvention of the rules. General manager Trent Redden is expected to lead the basketball decision-making and personnel operations moving forward with Frank suspended. Assistant general managers Mark Hughes and Travis Schlenk would take a more prominent role in handling scouting, roster adjustments and day-to-day basketball needs. It remains unclear at this point who would handle the day-to-day business decisions.
It's almost impossible to measure the impact of what losing five first-round draft picks from 2029-2033 will have on the Clippers, a team that already is in dire need of an injection of youth. The Clippers could potentially miss out on players like Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel during those upcoming seasons. First-round drafts picks are considered the primary currency for building and upgrading a roster in the NBA and losing them will restrict what the the Clippers can do in the trade market. It's possible the Clippers would not be able to have any assets to trade for a player that could provide an immediate impact. They could have no high-value assets to attach to matching salaries. The Clippers are set to acquire two-time All-Star Brandon Ingram and draft picks from the impending Leonard trade, but they may largely need to rely on veteran minimum contracts and second-round picks moving forward. Some good news is that Bradley Beal is expected back this season after dealing with a hip injury.
Since the NBA chose not to void Leonard's contract or suspend him, the trade is now expected to go through. The trade had been put on hold pending the outcome of the NBA's investigation. As part of the deal, the Raptors would send Ingram, Gradey Dick, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two future second-round picks to the Clippers. The Clippers would be allowed to keep those draft picks since the NBA ruling applies only to their existing first-round draft picks.
The Clippers were not expected to be title contender or compete for playoff spot with the core of their team expected to be traded. Last season the Clippers rebounded from a 6–21 start to became the first team in NBA history to finish above .500 (42-40) after being 15 games under. That was good enough for a ninth-place finish in the Western Conference, but they lost to Golden State in the play-in tournament. That all led to the Leonard trade. With the challenges they now face, the Clippers could finish with the worst record in the league for the better part of the next decade.
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