Clippers Deserve the NBA's Kawhi Punishment, Not the Fans

After a year-long investigation into the cap circumvention allegations regarding the LA Clippers' dealings with Kawhi Leonard, the NBA handed down a hefty punishment. The summary report detailing the findings of the investigation by the private law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, and Katz is damning. The flagrant violation of the rules by Steve Ballmer and the top brass of the Clippers organization is undeniable.

When league rules and code of conduct are so brazenly violated, the NBA clearly had no choice but to bring down the hammer. Letting the Clippers get away with a slap on the wrist would have set a very dangerous precedent.

That is why it's understandable why the Clippers and their leadership got penalized to such an extent.

One problem with this punitive outcome is that it penalizes the only innocent party: Clippers fans.

Clippers Fans Face the Most Severe Penalties From the Kawhi Leonard Investigation

By taking away five future first-round picks, the NBA is essentially making it impossible for the Clippers to have a relevant, competitive team over the next decade. The first first-round pick under Clippers control is not until 2034. This prevents them from drafting top-end talent or trading away draft capital to improve in the immediate term.

It also damages the reputation of the organization. It will be much harder for the Clippers to market themselves as an attractive destination. They will almost certainly struggle to acquire or retain star talent. This hurts the on-court product, which is what fans care about more than anything else.

Ballmer, on the other hand, is suspended for only one year. Sure, his reputation will take a hit, but he will probably be able to sell the Clippers and make billions of dollars in profit. He will suffer no real consequences for causing so much pain to the fanbase.

President of business operations, Gillian Zucker, is suspended without pay for a year. Per the report, she was directly responsible for initiating a lot of the contact between Leonard and team sponsors and providing false information to the investigators. She is as much to blame as Ballmer for this mess, but her punishment also pales in comparison to what Clippers fans will be dealing with.

Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months. One has to imagine that he will be able to return to his job and continue to make millions of dollars despite completely destroying the present and the future of the franchise.

This is a typical case of the millionaire and billionaire class acting with impunity. The Clippers leadership clearly thought that nothing would happen to them. They would get away with breaking the rules to gain a competitive advantage. And they are right to think so. Nothing usually happens to the ruling class in this country.

This may seem like a harsh punishment for Ballmer, Zucker, and Frank, but it's nothing compared to what real fans of this team will have to go through over the next decade. That's where the real injustice lies regarding the results of this investigation.

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