KOC: Clippers could be set back ‘decades’ thanks to Kawhi punishment
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor reacts to the NBA's punishment towards the Clippers & owner Steve Ballmer for circumventing the salary cap by setting up no-show endorsement deals with Aspiration — including stripping five first-round clips and a $30 million fine for Ballmer. Check out the full conversation on "The Kevin O'Connor Show" and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
I'm just shocked.
We finally actually got a result here, that something actually happened, and for the Clippers, oh boy, oh boy.
Was it worth it?
I don't think so.
I don't think so.
Kawhi Leonard.
Remember the excitement of getting Kawhi and Paul George and trading away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, future NBA Finals MVP, two-time regular season MVP?
Remember the excitement of that on that day when that happened?
Boy, what's the total penalty for the Clippers to make this happen?
How many picks did they give up?
Was it eight, five?
So this is like 10 first round draft picks the Clippers gave up for, I don't know, not much excitement with Kawhi Leonard and a lot of missed games with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George getting out of there pretty quickly.
Man, I just I feel for Clippers fans, man.
I mean, look, like, you did kinda choose this life.
You kinda did.
But as bad as you thought it might've been, somehow it's gotten worse, and I don't think it's gonna be looking any better anytime soon, 'cause there are some good-looking draft classes in '28 and '29 that now the Clippers are gonna miss out on.
It's gonna set back a rebuild.
This isn't just a five-year penalty for the Clippers, this could set them back for decades.
That's what this could do, this punishment that the NBA levied out against the Los Angeles Clippers.
