Clippers Lose Five First-Round Picks Over Leonard Scandal — SkimNews
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- The NBA revoked five first-round picks from the LA Clippers (2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033) for salary cap circumvention around Kawhi Leonard — the only comparable penalty came when the Minnesota Timberwolves had five picks taken in 2000 over an illegal Joe Smith agreement, of which then-commissioner David Stern later returned two.
- The Timberwolves still made the playoffs for four straight seasons after losing their picks, reaching the 2004 Western Conference finals with Kevin Garnett winning MVP, but only three players age 25 or younger averaged double-digit points from 2001-2005 and just one of seven draft picks provided even modest production in Minnesota.
- The Clippers retain a first-round pick next summer, hold potential picks in 2029, 2031 and 2033 via the Leonard and Ivica Zubac trades, and used the No. 5 pick in June on Keaton Wagler — but the Stepien rule bars them from trading any of those selections.
- The Clippers are coming off a missed playoff season while trading Leonard back to Toronto, and young guards Darius Garland and Wagler are unlikely to approach Garnett-level production, leaving the franchise without a clear centerpiece to anchor a rebuild.
- The Clippers' lost picks don't begin until 2029 — three years away — meaning the punishment stretches farther into the future than Minnesota's did, though the NBA has softened penalties before by returning Timberwolves picks and giving the Ted Stepien-era Cleveland Cavaliers "bonus" selections in the 1980s.
Why it matters: The Clippers are locked into their current roster through the end of the decade with no trade flexibility under the Stepien rule, while their best player is being dealt and they've already missed the playoffs — so a franchise whose lone conference finals trip came in 2021 now faces a likely multi-year competitive drought.
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