Clippers' Future Draft Picks After the NBA's Cap Circumvention Punishment

September 2nd, 2026, will go down as one of the worst days for the Los Angeles Clippers. On Wednesday, the NBA laid down a steep punishment on the organization for its involvement in circumventing salary cap rules around Kawhi Leonard's contract.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, many in LA's front office are facing suspensions. Owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year and was fined $30 million. President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended without pay for six months, and President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended without pay for a year.

Not to mention, the Clippers have been stripped of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033.

Evaluating LA's Future Draft Picks

LA was still recovering from the aftereffects of the Paul George trade in 2019 when the Clippers traded five first-round picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, their future looks bleak.

The Clippers will not own their own first-round pick until 2034. They'll own other teams' first-round picks, but not their own for eight years. They don't control their own second-round pick until 2031.

LA will still have a first-round pick in 2027, but it's the second-most favorable pick among themselves, Toronto, and Oklahoma City. They also have the least favorable first-rounder between themselves and Philadelphia (1-3 protected) in 2029, and unprotected first-round picks from the Toronto Raptors in 2031 and 2033.

It's safe to say that the only way for the Clippers to receive a desirable first-round pick is to sell off current assets for draft capital. LA holds two second-round picks (2028 Dallas and 2030 Toronto) over the next four years.

What's Next?

This punishment will certainly affect the franchise's future. Thankfully, they received a top-five pick and selected Keaton Wagler this year, but they won't get another opportunity like that for a long time.

The Clippers intend to fight this ruling, but the NBA's rulings are final. Per Charania, there is no formal appeal or arbitration process available to the Clippers with the league. LA's only outlet to fight the punishment is in court.

Leonard gets off relatively unscathed, besides a $700,000 fine. He didn't receive a suspension and will get a fresh start with the Raptors. The Clippers are left to clean up the mess and will have a long way to go to crawl out of it.

LA still has multiple veteran pieces they could move, but the days of having any draft capital are long gone.

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