The Los Angeles Clippers begin a new era with the cloud of punishment lingering over them. After facilitating endorsements to circumvent the salary cap, the Clippers have lost five first round picks spanning from 2029-2034 and received a $30M fine. Steve Ballmer, President of Business Operations, Gillian Zucker, and Lawrence Frank have all been suspended for a year—except the latter, who received one for six months.
Their punishment should be a fair warning to any other teams looking to manipulate the system. While the Clippers navigate their organizational direction amidst these punishments, it creates a fascinating case study on—what could be—the most unique rebuild since the Process Sixers.
A team has received this level of punishment for salary cap circumvention before. The Minnesota Timberwolves were found guilty of doing so with Joe Smith in 2000. While the financial cost may be adjusted for inflation, they too lost five first round picks.
The difference between the Timberwolves and Clippers is the state of their franchises at the time of the decision. Minnesota was competing against the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs near the top of the Western Conference behind Kevin Garnett’s superstardom. The absence of picks to further enhance their roster around Garnett could be a significant factor in never getting over the hump with him, and ultimately having to move on from him in 2007. The Clippers are moving on to a completely new era from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George into a transition towards a younger build—a daunting challenge for a team with limited draft capital.
With that said, the Los Angeles Clippers can take bits and pieces from successful rebuilds over the years to return to NBA prominence. In the meantime, this rebuild could become the most fascinating team-building case study we’ve seen in quite some time.
Keaton Wagler: the new cornerstone
I’m super in on Keaton Wagler, ranking him fifth on my final 2026 board and slotted within the same tier as Caleb Wilson.
Sure, he’s going to have adjustments, primarily with the physicality in the NBA. Because of it, he’ll be targeted defensively early in his career. He’s not a mind-blowing athlete who can routinely finish above the rim or over the defense.
However, he has this fascinating stack of size, skill, and feel that’s hard to bet against. He has impeccable feel as a live-dribble creator—boasting a 53.9 Effective Field Goal percentage (eFG%) off dribble jumpers on 146 attempts, per Synergy Sports. In addition, he scored 1.080 points per possession (PPP) with a 54.8 eFG% as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, per Synergy Sports. I haven’t seen many players his age play with such poise and patience as a ball-handler, and it’s amplified by his soft touch on his jumper. Within this trait, he’s shown a killer instinct when hunting mismatches as a shooter or driver.
