Clippers will be irrelevant for years after NBA drops hammer on franchise

The NBA brought the hammer down on the Clippers for circumventing the league’s salary cap rules by “initiating off-court income opportunities” for star forward Kawhi Leonard.

And the impact of the harsh penalties after the yearlong investigation will be felt for years to come. 

Among the punishments the NBA dished out out Wednesday: a $30 million fine for the Clippers; franchise owner Steve Ballmer (one year), President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker (one year) and President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank (six months) being suspended for their roles in Leonard’s impermissible endorsement deals; Leonard having to pay the league $700,000 for his connections with the violations. 

And the penalty that’ll have the biggest impact on the Clippers’ short- and long-term futures: having to forfeit five first-round draft picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.

One of the harshest penalties in league history. 

But in the eyes of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, an appropriate punishment considering the violations the league found that the Clippers committed. 

“The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans,” Silver said in a statement. “I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.”

The league didn’t hold back on the Clippers. 

The fine issued against the team is the largest in league history against a franchise — nearly 10 times more than the $3.5 million the Timberwolves were fined in 2000 (around $6.7 million in 2026 when adjusting for inflation) for circumventing salary cap rules with Joe Smith. 

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!

But Ballmer has the money to pay for it. 

The suspensions will result in the Clippers not having a few of the most important individuals in the organization involved in their day-to-day operations for a significant period. 

But eventually, Ballmer, Zucker and Frank will be allowed to do their jobs. 

The deduction of first-round draft picks is where the Clippers will feel the most impact for at least the next half decade.

The Clippers were set on a new era entering this offseason, already having traded James Harden for Darius Garland and Ivica Zubac to the Pacers for a package that included Bennedict Mathurin (now on the Pelicans), a 2026 first-round pick (drafted Keaton Wagler), a 2028 second-round pick via Dallas and a 2029 first-round pick. 

And by agreeing to a trade with the Raptors that’ll send Leonard back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple draft picks, the Clippers made it clear they were embracing being able to rebuild their franchise around younger talent after the seven-year Leonard era didn’t produce the desired results. 

But the loss of first-round picks, and the overall lack of draft capital for the next seven years, will make it challenging for the Clippers to set themselves up for a more successful future.

If the Clippers and Raptors go through with the Leonard trade as they agreed to in late June, the Clippers will get the Raptors’ unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks.

But that’ll give them just four first-round picks over the next seven drafts after entering July believing they’d have up to nine. And if the Stepien Rule applies to forfeited first-round picks, they’ll have zero first-round picks available to trade until the day of the draft. 

A very challenging place to build up from. 

It appears the Clippers are going to fight against the NBA’s ruling, even though, as has widely been reported, that there isn’t an appeal or arbitration process available to the franchise. In other words, if the Clippers want to fight against the punishments, they’ll have to take it to court.

The Clippers’ future isn’t completely bleak.

Once the trade goes through as anticipated, they’ll have several young or in-their-prime good players on respectable contracts — players who can either develop or be traded for draft capital. They’ll still draft picks at their disposal.

But the Clippers’ future appears to be a lot bleaker now than it did even a couple of months ago. 

Which is the biggest punishment of them all.