In a somewhat surprising turn, the NBA dropped the hammer on the LA Clippers for salary cap circumvention and will take five first round picks from them as part of the punishment that also includes massive fines and suspensions for their owner and front office.
For those of us who have been around for a while, this is like a return to the norm, as the Clippers were long the most dysfunctional and awful franchise in all of pro sports. It turns out that having a super-rich owner didn’t change that fact, and the Clippers are down as bad as they’ve been since the Donald Sterling days.
Well done, Steve Ballmer!
Side note: The Clippers have now given up 10 first-round picks, a bunch of swaps and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Kawhi. Ouch.
As the league reacts to the news that the Clippers are losing half a decade of first-round picks, they are also positioning themselves to take advantage.
The Pistons are one of the teams in the best position to cash in on the Clippers’ nightmare.
The Pistons have picks and the Clippers need them
Losing first-round picks isn’t just about losing an injection of young talent every year, it’s also about LA’s ability to make future trades, as picks are almost always part of the equation.
It’s not hyperbole to say this could set them back for 10 years, as it’s far more difficult to rebuild without picks, and the Clippers are a team badly in need of a rebuild.
They may have to jumpstart that action by trading the few players they have who might garner them a first-round pick.
Darius Garland and the recently drafted Keaton Wagler might be the only players the Clippers currently employ who would net them a first-round pick in a trade.
It’s doubtful the Clippers would want to trade the only high upside young player they have, so Garland is the most obvious choice if LA wants to try and recoup one of their picks.
The Detroit Pistons happen to have control of all their first-round picks (it’s nice to cheer for a team that doesn’t egregiously cheat) and are positioned to snag Garland from the Clippers if they wanted to deal him at the deadline.
Garland is a player who has been mentioned as a possibility for the Pistons (mostly in relation to Jalen Duren) and he’d be a nice trade deadline pickup as a guy who can handle the ball and is an elite 3-point shooter who could take some of the pressure off Cade Cunningham.
If the Pistons needed more depth at the deadline, guys like Max Strus and Rui Hachimura could be made available. They aren’t likely to get the Clippers first-round picks, but they will have to start stacking second rounders as well.
The Clippers’ mess will create opportunities for someone, and it could be the Pistons, who are in possession of the thing the Clippers now lack, which is expendable first-round picks.
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