As the new NBA season gets underway, the Clippers have more reasons to long for days past than look forward to the future.
Earlier this offseason, the franchise got hammered with penalties by the NBA for circumventing the cap to pay Kawhi Leonard more money than was legally permitted. It marked the end of a year-long investigation and the consequences were severe. Owner Steve Ballmer was banned from NBA activities for a year, the team got slapped with a huge fine and multiple executives were suspended. But the most significant of them all? Los Angeles will be stripped of five first-round picks, starting in 2028 and running through 2033.
