Shortly after the league announced the punishment for the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard for their salary cap circumvention controversy, the common media narrative was that while the Clippers got the short end of the stick, Kawhi Leonard got off relatively unscathed for a scheme in which he benefited most.
However, Draymond Green, the Warriors’ veteran, believes the league was right in not suspending Kawhi Leonard while also raising questions about the salary cap system.
Green went so far as to say the NBA was too harsh to fine the Clippers $30 million, despite their owner, Steve Ballmer, having a net worth of over $150 billion.
“Kawhi Leonard has to pay $700,000 essentially in restitution for what happened in the deal, and Kawhi came out and said, ‘I didn’t know anything about this,’ and I’m taking his word for it,” said Green, claiming that he believes Kawhi Leonard was unaware of the wrongdoings of his uncle.
Despite claims and credible evidence suggesting Kawhi Leonard was aware of the deals, Draymond Green decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I’m sure Daktronics is a real company. If you got a deal coming in from Daktronics, you’re not running to your representation like, ‘Yo, how I get this?’ Like, you’re like, ‘Oh, I got a deal with Daktronics. And I know that’s a very reputable company.’ Look, in any arena, they’re probably doing the scoreboard.”
“So, you know, I’m taking Kawhi’s word for what it is, and I’m happy the team got the bulk of the penalty and not Kawhi. You know, we heard a lot that, you know, Kawhi may be suspended and all. I’m happy he didn’t get suspended.”
“And, as I said, address the issues, the issues of the salary cap. I think that’s what comes out of this,” Green said before he began questioning the NBA’s salary cap rules.
“Why is there a salary cap? Why are guys being prevented from making money from team sponsors or league sponsors or whoever else? And we talk about how we’re in a player-centric league, that is player-focused, that is player-driven, that, you know, has the best benefit, best interest for the players.”
“And here’s a situation where a guy can make $20 to $30 million extra dollars, and we’re like, “Oh yeah, you’re in trouble.” I’m happy Kawhi didn’t get the bulk of this punishment. I think that is absolutely beautiful. I think it’s incredible.”
“$ 30 million, I know everybody’s like, ‘Man, $30 million is a slap on the wrist for Steve Ballmer. He was worth $180 billion.’ In theory, that makes sense. Except it doesn’t, because $30 million for you and $30 million for me and $30 million for him, it’s all the same $30 million. It’s spent the same way. Whether I spend it, you spend it, or he spends it. $30 million is $30 million.”
“I don’t have a billion dollars, let alone 180 or 200 billion dollars. So I can’t really tell you from experience. But I can tell you that I don’t want to spend $50,000. I don’t want to give up $50,000. So it’s all relative, I suppose, except $30 million.”
“I hate when somebody’s like, ‘Yo, it’s $50,000 to you. That ain’t nothing.’ Yes, it is. It’s $50,000. So $30 million is a steep fine,” Green further explained.
And I’mma tell you what’s even going to bother Steve Ballmer more than that $30 million: being away from that team for an entire year. That’s going to bother him. If you haven’t noticed Steve Ballmer, this is what he does.”
“As he got, he bought the Clippers, and he’s been all in. Like, this is his life. And so I think that’s going to bother him more than the $30 million. However, no one wants to lose $30 million.”
“Now, here’s where the NBA dropped the hammer. Five first-round picks. That includes the picks the Clippers just picked up in the trade from Cleveland with Darius Garland and James Harden. That includes all of the assets that they’ve acquired; if I’m not mistaken, it includes some of the picks from the Zubac trade as well, you know. So, it sucks.”
“And those five first-round picks, that’ll set you back. Now, you look at it, and you say, ‘Yeah, that does suck. They’re in Los Angeles. They should be able to get free agents.’ It’s not the same as being with the Lakers.”
“However, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George did sign there as free agents. So, it’s proven that, I mean, Jerry West, the great Jerry West, is no longer here, which I think was key behind those guys coming here. But it’s proven that they can get top-level talent in their prime outside of the draft.”
“But losing five first-round picks, that’s where the hammer is dropped. That’s where it’s like, it’s crippling to a franchise, to an organization. Now, as I said, this is a team that is based in Los Angeles.”
“If this is the Indiana Pacers losing five first-round picks or, you know, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for that matter, or, you know, and what I’m getting at is these smaller-market teams.”
“If it’s these smaller-market teams and you’re losing all your picks, man, it’s like the death penalty in college where they start snatching all your, you know, everything—banners and scholarships—and they snatch it. It’s similar to that.”
“And so that’s where I would say the NBA dropped the biggest hammer: snatching those five first-round picks. That is completely debilitating to a franchise, especially a franchise that just went through a six- or seven-year period of thinking they’re right there with the possibility of winning, and now you’re in a space where you have to reset—just got a top-five pick in Keaton Wagler.
“You’re in this space where you have to reset, and all of a sudden you have to do that after losing five first-round draft picks. That’s tough. Um, that’s going to be tough to get over, and it may put the Clippers in purgatory for a long time to come,” Draymond Green further added.
“It makes you think about certain players like Darius Garland- how are they going to look at being in this place now? Great coach like Ty Lue- how does he look at being in this place now? Like, it’s going to dampen the vibe around the Clippers. It’s going to really limit how much they can improve.”
“You know, all of a sudden you have a bad year, you have no draft pick. Now, here’s one thing I will say. Usually in these situations where draft picks get snatched, uh, you look up, and it’s just 29 first-round picks. I think the NBA needs to do something about that. And I think the NBA needs to do something about that for a few reasons.”
“Number one, it’s not fair to guys who have the opportunity to be one of 60, and then all of a sudden teams lose three picks throughout the course of the 30-team system, and you get three picks snatched, and then there are 57 draft picks this year.”
“That’s not fair to three guys who can get their name called and who’ve worked their whole lives for an opportunity to be one of 60. I think that sucks for guys who’ve worked their a– off. I think this sucks for the NBA as a whole.”
“I think at some point the NBA has to figure out a system where, when a pick gets snatched, maybe it goes into a lottery among certain teams. Maybe you can do something so that those picks don’t go somewhere else. But just getting rid of the pick as a whole, I don’t think that’s fair.”
“I don’t think that’s great for the NBA. You want 60 draft picks. That’s your draft. That’s what you market. It’s 60 picks, and you look up, and a team screwed up, and they lose the pick, and it’s just gone into thin air. I think those picks should go elsewhere.”
“I think that’s something that Commissioner Silver should look into because those picks evaporate into thin air. I don’t think it’s fair for anyone, and I don’t think it’s the best move for the league. I think ultimately someone in our league, obviously starting at the top with our incredible commissioner, Adam Silver, needs to take a deep look at that when they snatch those picks away.”
“Where do they go? But just letting them evaporate into thin air, I disagree with that. I don’t think it’s the best thing for the NBA. And it’s obviously not the best thing for young guys who’ve worked their entire lives to put themselves in a position on draft night to hear their name as one of 60 being called.”
“Now, consider this. Usually, we see these picks get snatched in the second round. What if the Clippers and that’s a top-five pick? Could you imagine being a guy who could have been the fifth pick and now you’re sixth because five didn’t have a pick?”
“Like, I don’t think that’s great. I don’t think it’s great for the NBA at all. And I think the league and the NBPA need to come up with a system where, if that pick gets snatched away from one team, it somehow ends up with another team. But I don’t agree with the evaporation of the pick,” Draymond Green stated.
“Needless to say, back to the Kawhi Leonard thing, or the Kawhi Leonard Clippers scandal, before we get out of here. Kawhi’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, who he fired within the last year, is banned from any NBA dealings for the next five years.”
“So, you know, they dropped some strenuous penalties, and, when we’ve seen these crazy situations dating back to the Donald Sterling situation, where it was kind of Adam Silver’s first thing he had to deal with in a heavy way as commissioner, I remember that I was playing in the game when all that stuff happened.”
“Dating back to that, Adam has shown that when it’s time to lay the hammer, he will lay the hammer. And he did that today or yesterday- excuse me- by laying the hammer down in this Clippers scandal.”
“Now that that’s behind us, they say the Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto will be finalized. Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick headed to the Clippers. That will be finalized in the next few days. They can head to camp. We can all head to camp this month and get the year started,” Green concluded.
In summary, the Warriors veteran believes that while the league was right not to suspend Kawhi Leonard, he questions the rationale for maintaining the integrity of the salary cap system when it is clearly meant to promote an equal level of competition.
The whole reason behind the salary cap system is to prevent teams from using market leverage to convince players to join them while completely ruining competitive balance for small-market teams.
Moreover, they have a major decision on their hands when it comes to deciding what to do with the picks that the Clippers have forfeited.
Several incredible ideas, like giving the next year’s pick to the winner of the NBA Cup each year, have been floated around the league, giving other teams a chance to battle for the first-round pick the Clippers have forfeited.
And while that will be must-see TV, announcing something like that will effectively destroy all possible relief for the Clippers, who can still take this matter to court. And if the court finds the league’s findings invalid, the league could be liable for damages to the Clippers.
Additionally, we have also seen in the past, when the Timberwolves faced a similar situation, that the league office also looks at potentially returning the picks to the franchise over time. They returned two of the five picks that they made the Timberwolves forfeit in the Joe Smith controversy.
Since the league will now keep a closer eye on the Clippers’ day-to-day operations, they could decide to return the picks based on the franchise’s operational improvements. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how the league office answers this next big question:f what to do with the Clippers’ forfeited picks.