<\/p>\n
We hope it was worth it.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the NBA<\/a> laid the hammer down on the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> as a result of an investigation into salary-cap circumvention in relation to forward Kawhi Leonard’s<\/a> 2021 extension, including fining the team $30 million and suspending owner Steve Ballmer from all league and team activities for the entire 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n President of business operations Gillian Zucker received a one-year ban, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank six months, both without pay.<\/p>\n But most consequential was the league’s decision to strip the Clippers of five future first-round picks from 2029-33.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n For all that trouble, one would think the franchise would have gotten at least one NBA title out of it. Instead, the Clippers only have a one-way ticket to the bottom of the league.<\/p>\n The Clippers were already a team in decline before the league decided on punishment, which will make it even harder to build a contender in future seasons.<\/p>\n Los Angeles went 42-40 last season and missed the postseason for the first time since three consecutive first-round exits from 2022-25. In June, the franchise began to turn the page from the Leonard era when selecting Illinois guard Keaton Wagler with the No. 5 overall pick acquired in Ivica Zubac’s trade to the Indiana Pacers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The following month, the Clippers agreed to trade Leonard, who received a $700,000 fine as part of the cap circumvention case, back to the Toronto Raptors<\/a>, his home in 2018-19.<\/p>\nClippers will have a hard time recovering from Kawhi Leonard investigation fallout<\/h2>\n