Category: Basketball

Just 71 days ago, the Los Angeles Clippers selected star All-American guard Keaton Wagler with the No. 5 overall pick.

A lot has changed in the roughly two months since they made that pick, however, and right now is not a great time to be a Clippers fan.

There have been speculations for a long time that the team’s owner Steve Ballmer and the organization as a whole did some shady things to circumvent the salary cap and sign forward Kawhi Leonard.

These theories started to gain even more traction this summer, and just today, Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA levied their official punishments.

The Clippers will lose five first-round picks, be fined $30 million, Ballmer will be suspended for a year and Leonard will be forced to pay back $700,000 in restitution.

And now, enter Wagler, caught in the middle of it all.

The 19-year-old former Illini is weathering a heck of a storm for his first year in the league, something that could end up having an impact on his rookie season.

But Illinois fans and Clippers fans agree on one thing, they’re hopeful that it won’t.

Following last year’s historic run to the NBA championship, there’s little a critic can say to Jalen Brunson. New York’s captain averaged 28.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists en route to a Knicks championship, hitting clutch shots and stringing together all-time performances along the way.

With training camp still a month out, fans have had to occupy their free time with the sort of debates a run like that naturally sparks. One of those debates is where Brunson now ranks among the best point guards in the league.

Truthfully, 45 points in a close-out Finals game against the best defense in the league should earn you best player in the world discussions, but much of that talent resides at his position anyway. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was one win away from being New York’s Finals foe after winning the 2925 championship. Luka Doncic is still a machine when healthy. Cade Cunningham had another stellar year, and Tyrese Haliburton is returning from injury after absolutely haunting the Knicks in back-to-back Playoffs. 

Let’s break down the competition and see where Brunson shakes out.

Honorable mentions are owed to Stephen Curry and Tyrese Maxey, but consensus puts them just outside this group. Curry’s aging has caused his rim pressure and durability to decline, while Maxey’s playmaking and defensive limitations were exposed against Brunson in the Playoffs.

Haliburton is a legitimate wild card. The last we saw of him, he piloted the NBA’s most dangerous offensive system and was nailing big shots in a legacy-defining Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

His size and playmaking advantages over Brunson are indisputable, there’s few passing equivalents to him, and he’s proven the ability to take over with his scoring, especially in the clutch. The only question is if he can walk back into this production coming off injury with a slightly rejiggered roster.

A big argument for Brunson is his aversion to disappearing. Haliburton had a handful of high-stakes single-digit performances, whereas Brunson will shoot his way out of just about any stupor, never shrinking to the sidelines. 

Cunningham, keeping with the trend, also has an advantagel of height and weight on Brunson. His production is also especially impressive working with spacing similar to Brunson’s before Karl-Anthony Towns and Mike Brown arrived. 

But there’s a clear separator between the two, and that’s ball control. Cunningham’s averaged four turnovers a game over his career and closer to six in the Playoffs, the latter making for a much worse assist-to-turnover ratio compared to Brunson’s.

That poise was much of the difference in Brunson facing the Cavaliers in this year’s Conference Finals instead of Cunningham’s Pistons. While Brunson rose to the occasion, Cunningham faltered in the biggest games of his career, though he’ll surely be back more motivated than ever.

The real conversation is where Brunson belongs in the MVP tier of guys - Doncic and SGA. Unfortunately when the latter is on and healthy, there’s almost nobody that can outplay him.

But Brunson’s been more available, and more dependable on the biggest stages defensively. Doncic got worked in the 2024 NBA Finals on that end, couldn’t do enough in the first round of the 2025 Playoffs to top Minnesota, and outright missed the 2026 postseason due to injury.

While he’s a walking 30-point triple-double, he is entering somewhat of a prove-it year with the major milestones of MVP or a championship still in reach. Brunson spent last season proving all he needed to in ways Doncic never has, such as on the defensive side of the ball or as an off-ball offensive threat.

For those reasons, one can argue Brunson over Doncic in a battle over former teammates.

But what about Gilgeous-Alexander?

That’s a tougher argument to make. The reigning MVP has the added inches but none of the drawbacks when put side-by-side with Brunson.

His shot making is unreal, his passing and defense is reliable, and he has the resume to back up the complete package. He put together his own heroics against the Spurs last Playoffs, scoring 35 points and dishing nine assists in his Game 7 loss despite a lack of secondary weapons.

Brunson is the bigger threat to pull up from three and is less free throw dependent, but Gilgeous-Alexander is the superior defender with gaudy efficiency numbers. At the very least, last year made this a real race.

Wherever you place Brunson in the rankings, 2026 was validation that he belongs among the best names this league has to offer at the position. And this upcoming season should only need to serve as a reminder.

When Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2bn in 2014, it was widely regarded as a coup for the NBA.

Not only is Ballmer one of the richest men in the world – worth an estimated $152.7bn – but his passion and enthusiasm for the sport stood in stark contrast to the team’s embattled former owner. Donald Sterling, who bought the Clippers for $12.5m in 1981, was forced to sell after being handed a lifetime ban by the NBA in response to a series of racist comments.

Ballmer was the kind of owner NBA fans dream of, especially ones as downtrodden as the Clippers. He invested hundreds of millions of dollars towards improving the roster, growing the brand, and developing the new state-of-the-art Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. When it opened in 2024, it gave the Clippers a home of their own for the first time since moving from San Diego in 1984. Ballmer’s Clippers constantly pushed the envelope, installing the first “halo” scoreboard, a wall of a supporters’ section strategically positioned to throw off opponents, a team with future Hall of Famers Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Ballmer turned a laughingstock that had been living in the shadows of the crosstown rival Lakers into a relevant organization.

Related: Clippers docked five first-round draft picks and fined $30m over Kawhi Leonard scandal

But on Wednesday afternoon, after a year of allegations that Ballmer’s Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap to pay superstar Leonard back in 2021, it was confirmed that Ballmer had taken it all a little bit too far. NBA commissioner Adam Silver handed down the harshest punishment in league history, stripping the Clippers of five first-round draft picks and fining them $30m, while suspending Ballmer for a year.

“The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans,” Silver said in a statement. “I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.”

NBA fans have been looking for clarity for a year. Last September, journalist Pablo Torre released the first in a series of podcast episodes alleging that Ballmer’s Clippers violated the salary cap circumvention rules designed to punish teams for spending too much on player salaries. Citing legal documents, Torre claimed that Ballmer went under the table to sign Leonard to a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration – a now-bankrupt sustainability services company that Ballmer invested in to pay Leonard $28m.

The NBA-hired New York law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz has been conducting an independent investigation into the allegations since then, saying on Wednesday that the Clippers violated “the circumvention rules in numerous independent ways by (i) affirmatively initiating off-court income opportunities between Mr Leonard and four different companies doing business with the team: Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics, and Lockton Insurance.” It also found that the Clippers facilitated the fulfillment of those endorsement agreements and induced the companies to enter into the agreements by offering and providing them with business from the Clippers, such as an Aspiration jersey patch and Daktronics scoreboard.

The Clippers “vehemently reject the NBA’s punishments,” according to a statement released by the organization, calling them “the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence.” Leonard, meanwhile, announced on Instagram that “I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle,” referring to his uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, who solicited these agreements on Leonard’s behalf and was banned from the league for five years as a result.

Leonard appears to be on his way to Toronto, as the previously announced trade between the Clippers and Raptors is expected to go through within the next few days, according to ESPN. The Raptors will send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a pick-swap to Los Angeles to reunite Leonard with the franchise he won an NBA championship with in 2019. The deal was put on hold in late July after the NBA announced that the Raptors had to commit in writing to assume any risk of penalties Leonard might incur from the investigation. But given that Leonard basically got off scot-free – his only punishment is to pay the league $700,000, probably because the league wanted to avoid a battle with its Players Association – the Raptors will be incentivized to see the deal through while the Clippers will have a hard time going back to the negotiating table given that most of their front office has been suspended.

Still, the Clippers are desperate for a way out of this situation, and for good reason. After having to forfeit five first round draft picks, the Clippers now have no natural pick in the draft from 2029 through 2033. It’s a dire situation considering that the franchise only recently pivoted to a rebuild after trading veterans James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and (almost certainly) Leonard – leaving them without any superstars or bluechip prospects to build around. They can’t really attract veteran talent given the damage this year-long soap opera has done to their brand, while finding good young players through the draft just became nearly impossible.

“We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process,” announced the Clippers, who also sent a letter to Silver confirming that “we are exploring every legal remedy to address this gross injustice.”

Prolonged litigation between one of the world’s richest men and one of its wealthiest sports leagues could be ahead of us. But while this all may seem like a harsh penalty for an organization that only recently climbed out of the dregs of the NBA – one that could be forced to sell or relocate in the aftermath of this news in the worst-case scenario – Silver had no choice but to drop the hammer on Ballmer given what he represents not only to sports fans, but to the swell of big-pocketed owners who have recently bought into the NBA as well.

“Many fans have expressed apathy about the entire cap circumvention fiasco,” Stephen Noh wrote in Sporting News. “But if the league simply gave a finger wag, then other deep-pocketed ownership groups would surely have started their own cap circumvention techniques.”

Whether it’s Bob Iger and Josh Kushner buying the Lakers for $12.5bn this summer, or casino mogul and Donald Trump megadonor Miriam Adelson buying the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5bn in 2023, the new wave of NBA owners have a lot more in common with Ballmer than they do with the previous generation of NBA owners like Sterling and former Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who ran mom and pop shop operations after buying their teams for, as ridiculous as this sounds, “mere” millions.

Following in Ballmer’s footsteps, the new money entering the NBA is tied to tech billionaires, sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf states, and private equity firms in America that have seemingly unlimited amounts of money and power. Silver had no choice but to make an example out of the Clippers, theoretically setting a precedent that is harsh enough to keep the rest of the owners in line to ensure parity and integrity for the NBA.

Hopefully it’s not already too late.

I spent Wednesday evening racking my brain for a way to combine “karma” and “Kawhi” but the best I came up with was “Kawharma” which sounds more like Middle Eastern meat cooked on a spit. It’s still apropos as Kawhi Leonard is cooked.

Shams Charania posted the news as soon as it broke:

BREAKING: The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after yearlong probe — stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence… pic.twitter.com/JCV5bI88BE

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 2, 2026

“BREAKING: The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after yearlong probe — stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker, sources tell ESPN.”

Leonard was personally fined $700,000. While that may be years of accumulated salary for us mere mortals, it comes out to 2.5% of $28M he took under the table through his Aspiration deal. Consider the estimated $20M he made through additional off-the-books deals, and the $700,000 slap on the wrist becomes roughly 1.4% of what he made. He made a $50M salary and $50M in “consulting” doubling his income in a fashion

The internet went viral with comments. One of the best was figuring out what signing Kawhi Leonard has cost the Los Angeles Clippers now. Originally, pundits pointed out that his demand to bring in Paul George cost the Clips Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-rounders, and two pick swaps. Now the Clippers are in even deeper due to their relationship with Leonard.

Kawhi Leonard’s legacy with the Los Angeles Clippers:

– Demanded the front office trade for Paul George, forcing them to part with every asset they had including a young Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
– Missed 243 games in 7 seasons (equivalent of nearly 3 seasons)
– 2019-2020: Blew a…

— Damien Peters (@DamienPetersNBA) September 2, 2026

Leonard did not act alone. He was represented by his uncle Dennis Robertson whose name is well known among Spurs fans. Part of the outcome of this investigation has left Uncle Dennis banned from business dealings involving the NBA.

Last summer, Leonard requested a trade from Los Angeles to Toronto. The trade was held up due to the investigation as the Raptors were informed they could end up liable for any retribution involving Leonard. he is now expected to head to Toronto to play out the remainder of his career.

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Clippers fans, please join the rest of L.A. in booing Kawhi Leonard.

With your whole chests, let him hear it, the entitled scoundrel.

Greedy villain.

Selfish charlatan.

The Clippers’ star and his team found the one NBA franchise that was desperate enough to allegedly acquiesce to all of his out-of-bounds demands, to break the rules if only he would please, please pick them.

Yearning to be loved in the Lakers’ Los Angeles, the Clippers were easy marks during that 2019 free agency.

Leonard, fresh off winning his second NBA title and Finals MVP, took the Clippers and Steve Ballmer — the NBA’s richest owner, worth $152 billion, per Forbes — for a ride.

Read more:Plaschke: NBA drops the hammer on The Cheatin’ Clippers, and they can't shed the stink

Investigators have found that Leonard’s camp got the Clippers to agree, according to the findings of a nearly yearlong investigation by Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, to audacious levels of salary cap circumvention.

Billed as a hometown hero, the All-Star from Moreno Valley apparently arrived with his hand outstretched, demanding all sorts of improper perks, including an extra $10 million annually — in addition to the above-board contracts that paid him between $32 million and $50 million each season.

And then he did his Kawhi laugh all the way to the bank.

Now tack on the NBA’s $30-million fine and five first-round draft picks to the bill as punishment, announced Wednesday.

Those fans in Toronto who’d promised never to let him pay for a meal in their city again — “KaWine and Dine,” they called it — never stood a chance. They should toast their luck.

The Clippers doth protest, denying all of it. Probably because the investigation’s findings make them out to be not only cheaters, but fools.

The team’s statement: “We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence.”

And Leonard? He isn’t taking personal accountability, but he’s accepting the NBA’s $700,000 fine and, in a statement, said he blames “lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle.”

His excuse: Everyone has a crazy uncle, right?

Leonard’s statement concluded by referencing the pending trade sending him back to the Raptors, which was put on hold in July: “As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate.”

A clean slate? He plans to pay the fine — roughly one game’s worth of pay — pass go and roll the dice again like nothing happened. A top 50 player of all time and a Hall of Fame scam artist, this fun guy.

Who knows what deliverables he promised, but all he wrought was more frustration and misery for the team’s long-suffering, loyal fans.

For his seven seasons with the Clippers, he was a part-time worker getting paid excessive overtime.

Oft-injured, he played in only about 60% of the team’s regular-season games. Injuries stink, and so did the opacity with which the Clippers shared news of their star’s health status.

Load-of-nonsense management.

Read more:NBA hammers Clippers, Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard following investigation

With a wish list so long even Santa would’ve pushed back, he also demanded the Clippers trade future MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round draft picks to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George. Because Leonard wanted a proven running mate. That didn’t only set back the Clippers, it set up the young Thunder for at least one NBA title run.

The Clippers, meanwhile, still have not won an NBA title. Still haven’t played in an NBA Finals.

But together, Leonard and the team made history with Wednesday’s punishment.

The Clippers’ one Western Conference finals appearance in 2021? That came with Leonard in street clothes, nursing a torn anterior cruciate ligament, an injury the Clippers kept secret until it was announced later that summer that their star player had surgery to repair it.

A reticent, low-wattage star, Leonard did nothing to improve the Clippers’ brand or relevancy.

He did the opposite.

The Clippers were sold a lemon. And now all they’re left with is the sour, bitter taste of having been played.

Read more:Read the NBA's investigation of the Clippers, Steve Ballmer, Kawhi Leonard

The NBA handed Ballmer a suspension from all league and team activities for one year. Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker was hit with the same penalty. President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank will be suspended without pay for six months.

And the Clippers didn’t have to do any of it.

Was Leonard really going to go to another team?

He didn’t want to freeze in Toronto and he would have melted under the Lakers’ purple-and gold spotlight. He also wouldn’t have been able to play king on a team with LeBron James on it.

Leonard was meant to be a Clipper. He really was. The latest chapter in a story that always ends unhappily ever after.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

“If Player X gets a jumper”…

Ben Simmons Disease. If pigs could fly, we’d avoid walking under them, for what should be obvious reasons.

If Amen Thompson gets a jumper, he’ll be anywhere from a top-20 to top-1 player in the NBA, depending on whether “get a jumper” means “hit 35% of his two three-point attempts per game” or “hit 40% of his five attempts per game.

Look – If I inherit one million dollars, I’ve got a great idea for a video game. No, I’m not typing it out – nice try. If I don’t inherit one million dollars – by far the likeliest outcome – I’m starting a new career as a substitute teacher in a week. It’s easy to fantasize about what Thompson can be if he develops a jumper:

What if he can’t?

Thompson has alternative paths to stardom

It should be said that if Thompson stopped developing right now, and never got one iota better than he currently is, he’d level out at “pretty good”.

But, we don’t evaluate NBA players in a vacuum. We evaluate them relative to their contract. Estimates for the Average Annual Value (AAV) of Thompson’s next deal seem to range from $33 million to $50 million. He’s already a $33 million player:

Can he earn $50 million without a reliable three-pointer?

It’s not a question that will be answered with a rigorous scientific method here. That said, if Thompson can’t hit threes, there are, to my mind, at least two paths he can take that still lead to top 20ish player status. The first is simple: If Thompson can’t hit threes, he needs to hit more twos.

In 2025-26, Thompson hit 76.0% of his field goal attempts between zero and three feet. That’s good, but Giannis Antetokounmpo hit 80.0% of his. The Greek Freak peaked at 83.7% in 2022-23.

Thompson doesn’t need to match Antetokounmpo’s offensive production, but if he’s going to be a primary offensive option without a three-ball, he needs to approximate it. If he can cross that 80% threshold at his current volume, he’ll be such a dominant force at the rim that he might be able to survive as a star player without a three-pointer.

Otherwise, there may be one more way.

Thompson can dominate on defense

It’s been written about in great detail, but last year, Thompson sacrificed some of his defensive impact in favor of an increased offensive workload. He averaged 18.3 points and 5.3 assists per game to 2024-25’s 14.1 and 3.8, but his blocks per game slipped from 1.3 to 0.6.

It’s not (strictly) about the blocks per game, though, is it? We all saw Thompson’s defensive efforts wane last year. It’s hard to even blame him:

But if he wants to earn $50 million, and he can’t hit threes, it can’t happen again.

It’s simple: 14.1 points and 3.8 assists per game along with real Defensive Player of the Year (DPOTY) candidacy is not a $50 million player. Neither is 18.3 points and 5.3 assists without Defensive Player of the Year-ish credentials:

But 18 and 5 along with DPOTY consideration?

That’s approaching max contract territory. It’s also a reasonable, albeit difficult, ask.

Did someone say Ben Simmons? He was as productive offensively as Thompson last season in his prime, and he was always near the top of the DPOTY. At the peak of his powers, LeBron James was the best player in the league on both ends of the floor. Oh, and he could shoot, too.

LeBron James. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Prime Ben Simmons. This is rarified air. Some will suggest that these comparisons air on the ambitious side.

Well, that’s what the article is about – how Thompson can become approximately worth $50 million every season if he doesn’t develop a three-pointer. Either his rim efficiency leaps from “great” to “excellent”, or he manages to be one of the best wing defenders in the NBA as well as a strong secondary playmaker. If he can’t forge either of those paths, I personally cannot imagine how he’ll be a superstar player short of developing a three:

And that’s true for far too many NBA players.

The NBA’s nearly year-long investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers has ended with one of the harshest punishments in league history, sending the franchise back to territory last seen during Minnesota’s Joe Smith salary-cap scandal 25 seasons ago.

In the words of Mark Cuban, “Congrats Pablo.“

The League has concluded that the Clippers violated salary-cap circumvention rules by facilitating endorsement deals for Kawhi Leonard with Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The investigation began after reporting by Torre, and the process was conducted by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

BREAKING: The NBA has ruled on the Los Angeles Clippers in for salary cap circumvention investigations on Kawhi Leonard after yearlong probe — stripping the franchise of 5 first-round picks, issuing a $30 million fine to owner Steve Ballmer and suspensions for Ballmer, Lawrence… pic.twitter.com/JCV5bI88BE

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 2, 2026

The sanctions immediately reshape the Clippers’ already-long-gone future:

• The Clippers have been fined $30 million, the largest team fine in NBA history.
• Los Angeles is losing its first-round picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.
• The Clippers have been placed under a five-year compliance and monitoring program.
• Owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended from all league and team activities for one year.
• President of business operations Gillian Zucker has been suspended without pay for one year.
• President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended without pay for six months.
• Leonard was fined $700,000 for improper benefits.
• Dennis “Uncle Dennis” Robertson has been banned from conducting business with NBA teams for five years, although Kawhi is his lone client.

The scale of the punishment closely mirrors, although it clearly tops it, the NBA’s response to Minnesota in 2000. More than 25 years ago, former NBA commissioner David Stern stripped the Timberwolves of five first-round picks and fined the franchise $3.5 million after determining it had entered into an illegal secret agreement with Smith. Two of Minnesota’s five picks were later returned.

The Clippers’ draft situation is particularly tough. After years of outgoing picks tied to the Paul George trade, the latest penalties leave Los Angeles without one of its own first-round selections until 2034 under the current setup. Sheesh…

All in all — to acquire and later via NBA sanctions — Kawhi Leonard cost the Clippers:

2021 first round pick
2022 first round pick
2023 first round pick
2023 first round pick swap
2024 first round pick
2025 first round pick swap
2026 first round pick
2029 first round pick
2030…

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) September 2, 2026

The NBA suspended Ballmer for knowingly seeking to help Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities and approving a business arrangement connected to the Aspiration endorsement. Zucker was cited for being directly culpable in the endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators, while Frank was disciplined for his involvement and for approving impermissible expenses involving Leonard and his family.

Funnily enough, Leonard’s punishment differed significantly from Smith’s 25 seasons earlier, as Kawhi came out pretty much unscathed. Smith’s contract was voided in 2000, while the NBA decided to leave Leonard’s contract intact and instead ordered him to pay $700,000 over improper benefits. Lots of money to us, pocket money for the Klaw.

Los Angeles “vehemently” rejected the NBA’s findings and said it intends to challenge the ruling through every available avenue. Meanwhile, Kawhi is still on his way to Canada to play basketball north of the border next season.

With it being almost a week since the Cody Williams trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the dust has settled. But we haven’t really gotten a pulse on exactly how Jazz fans felt about it. That’s the center of the question for this week’s Utah Jazz Reacts survey. Did you feel like it was enough? Was it not enough? Was it more than enough? Some Jazz fans might have felt like they wanted to wait longer to see how things would pan out. Some may have thought we should have traded him sooner.

In this poll, it’s going to be a simple question: were you happy with the return in the trade for Cody Williams?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country.

Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys:

Pablo Torre, the journalist whose reporting led the NBA to crack down on the Los Angeles Clippers for circumventing the league salary cap rules, said he is not done with the story.

“There is more to come than is in the NBA report,’’ Torre said Wednesday, Sept. 2 during his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out. "This is not everything.''

Torre, 40, and his two co-hosts did not provide specifics. But Torre did offer a couple of possible hints while pointing to the findings of an investigation conducted by referring to a law firm hired by the NBA, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

The investigation has centered one player, Kawhi Leonard, and how the Clippers funneled him money in violation of the league's salary cap rules after signing him in 2019, according to a summary of the law firm's investigation. Torre cited mention in the summary of an unidentified second player.

Torre also pointed out the investigation findings did not include Dennis Wong, the Clippers' co-owner. Steve Ballmer, the team’s controlling owner, has been suspended from all league and team activities for a year.

The NBA issued a statement that in part reads, "more information will likely surface over time."

Said Torre, “I encourage people to dig in as we continue to cover it and investigate still, especially now that it seems like the story isn't over yet ... I always want more documents. Somehow still I'm unsatisfied with the documents.’’

In May, Torre’s investigative work on the Clippers’ scandal earned him a Pulitzer Prize for audio reporting. But he also has faced criticism, largely from the Clippers.

Clippers took aim at Pablo Torre

David Kelley, an attorney representing Ballmer, last year wrote that Torre’s reporting was a “vitriolic public campaign against Mr. Ballmer” and “principally based on anonymized gossip,’’ according to ESPN. Later in the year, in a statement sent to Torre’s show on behalf of Ballmer and the Clippers read, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”

Aspiration was the primary company named in the investigation that held Ballmer responsible for circumventing the salary cap – largely it appears to have secured Leonard's services after he led the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title in 2019.

“How desperate was Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in American sports, one of the richest people on the planet to get a superstar that would allow him to compete as owner of the Clippers?’’ Torre asked on Wednesday. “And the answer is, look at what he was doing.’’

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pablo Torre says 'more to come' after NBA crackdown on Clippers

The Warriors’ search for another star alongside Stephen Curry has produced a growing collection of almosts.

The latest name to add to the list is Jaren Jackson Jr.

ESPN’s Anthony Slater revealed Golden State explored acquiring the former Defensive Player of the Year before Memphis traded him to Utah at February’s deadline.

“I’ll give you one that is probably talked about least in the last few years of swings and misses: it’s Jaren Jackson at the deadline,” Slater said. “They were kind of sniffing around that.”

Those talks were ultimately tabled as Golden State turned its attention toward a much bigger prize: Giannis Antetokounmpo. Utah swooped in and acquired Jackson for a package featuring three first-round picks.

That sequence looks more painful in hindsight.

After Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending torn ACL in January, Golden State began looking beyond simply patching its roster. General manager Mike Dunleavy acknowledged that the injury had moved the “goalposts,” and the Warriors began pursuing players who could help extend Curry’s dwindling championship window.

Jackson was one option. Antetokounmpo quickly became the obsession.

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The Warriors reportedly offered a package built around Draymond Green, Kuminga, four first-round picks and a swap, but Milwaukee never engaged enough to get a deal across the finish line. Golden State eventually pivoted to Kristaps Porzingis, sending Kuminga and Hield to Atlanta. The failed Giannis pursuit even put Green’s Warriors future in jeopardy.

Golden State also checked on Kawhi Leonard around the deadline when it appeared the Clippers might consider major changes. Nothing materialized.

Then came the summer.

The Warriors had been plotting possible pursuits of both Antetokounmpo and LeBron James almost immediately after Butler went down. Antetokounmpo eventually landed in Miami, while Golden State made a serious push for James before he chose Philadelphia.

The Warriors also explored pairing James with Anthony Davis, although those discussions never gained traction with Washington. The Wizards reportedly weren’t interested in moving Davis. Golden State additionally discussed Jaylen Brown but never reached organizational consensus on paying Boston’s asking price.

Taken individually, each miss is understandable.

Together, they tell a different story.

Since Butler’s injury, Golden State has explored Jackson, Antetokounmpo, Leonard, Brown, Davis and James while searching for another centerpiece around Curry.

The San Antonio Spurs have officially announced DAZN as their exclusive media rights partner for the 2026-2027 season. Last month, DAZN announced deals with several other NBA teams, filling the gap that regional sports networks left behind after closing up shop. A deal with San Antonio was strongly suggested but was not official until now.

In a deal similar to that of the Indiana Pacers, DAZN will be the exclusive provider of all Spurs games not exclusive to national television. The games will be streamed on the DAZN app, which is available on a multitude of devices and will offer simultaneous multi-device streaming.

In addition to the games, the app will offer pre- and post-game shows, highlights, behind-the-scenes insights, and original programming.

The Spurs will oversee and manage the production of the games, Spurs Sports & Entertainment tells Pounding the Rock.

As far as availability, the app will serve those in South, Central, and West Texas. Once signed up, they will be able to use the app and stream games while traveling. For those fans residing out-of-market, NBA League Pass will still be the provider.

As expected, 22 games will be broadcast over-the-air from a local provider, yet to be announced.

In addition to Spurs games, DAZN will also offer select Spurs Sports & Entertainment content including San Antonio FC matches and Austin Spurs G League games.

The cost

This is all great, but how much will it cost? A Season Pass is available at $119.99/year. Month-to-month starts at $19.99. DAZN will also be offering an “Ultimate Tier” priced at $139.99/year or $24.99/month, which will include incremental benefits, several of which will include a one-time discount code good for 25 percent off at the Spurs Fan Shop, access to alternate feeds and camera angles, and multi-view capabilities.

As far as discounts go, a free seven-day trial will be available; season ticket holders will be given 20 percent off the Season Pass price, and fans who become “Official Spurs Fan Club members” by September 9 are eligible for an exclusive subscription discount, yet to be disclosed. Additional discounts and promotions will be offered throughout the season.

The service will be available within the coming weeks. Fans can sign up here to receive updates directly from DAZN.

What was the final cost for the Los Angeles Clippers acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in 2019?

Just as the organization had finally paid off their significant draft pick haul of five first rounders, two pick swaps and future two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Oklahoma City to secure Leonard's running mate from seven years ago, the NBA dropped the hammer on the Clippers.

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz's independent investigation concluded that the Clippers violated the league's salary cap circumvention rules by facilitating side deals between Leonard and four companies: Aspiration, Daktronics, Boingo Wireless and Lockton Insurance and offering them business from the team in exchange for entering into agreements with Leonard.

Among the several sanctions announced by the league against the team, owner Steve Ballmer and other high-ranking front office members, the Clippers are being stripped of five-first round draft picks in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.

Fines of $30 million for the team and $700,000 for Leonard were also levied while Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker received one-year suspensions; president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was also suspended for six months without pay. Additionally, the Clippers must enter into a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office over the next five years.

"The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans. I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct," commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations."

Where do the Clippers go from here?

Clippers future after NBA punishes team, Kawhi Leonard

First, the Toronto Raptors need to decide whether they want to go through with the previously agreed upon trade for Leonard. That deal was paused until the conclusion of the investigation. Now, with the superstar at the center of the scandal emerging relatively unscathed, that essentially clears the way for the trade to move forward. Assuming the deal gets done, LA gets back Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and two unprotected first-round picks, two second rounders and a first-round pick swap in 2027.

Because of this trade and the deal they made to acquire James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2023, the Clippers still have some draft capital. They will own one first rounder in 2031 and 2033 after that deal and forfeit the lone picks they had in 2030 and 2032. They will also lose either the unprotected pick they got from the Indiana Pacers in the Ivica Zubac trade or the top-three protected pick swap with the Sixers in 2029.

But even with that, the future in Inglewood looks about as muggy as the unusual humidity that's bogged down the city for much of the summer.

Before his suspension, Lawrence Frank was adamant that although the Clippers are no longer contenders, he does expect them to stay competitive. The roster reflects that gray area. Darius Garland arrived in February as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers' return package for James Harden. Bradley Beal joined the team after getting bought out by the Phoenix Suns and expected to be part of a three-headed monster alongside Leonard and Harden before fracturing his hip just six games into the 2025-26 season. He returns after agreeing to a new two-year $13.27 million contract not to be a third star, but now as a veteran presence in a locker room that got a lot younger.

Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick in June, stands as the Clippers' biggest roster addition this offseason. Instead of a major splash like we've seen Ballmer's teams make in recent years, the team pursued moves along the margins such as bringing in Rui Hachimura, Brook Lopez and Max Strus in free agency. Vets Nicolas Batum, Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins all walked.

But it's not like the Clippers have the flexibility to make any big moves happen right now. Once the Leonard trade goes through, roughly half of their cap space this season will be tied up in two players, Garland and Ingram, who are set to make over $82 million combined this season according to Spotrac. They might be able to swing a trade, but that seems unlikely this year without their top basketball ops executive or any tradeable draft assets. Ingram is set to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

They don't even have flexibility for moves in the long-term, either. Frank said it himself months ago.

"There’s not much left in the piggy bank prior to this trade in terms of premium picks," He told The Athletic at the trade deadline. "We’ve kind of gone all in, all in, all in. We’ve made a bunch of trades to kind of please today’s team. … OK, how are we gonna bridge this era to the next era? And with it is, guys who are part of the team now can also be part of the next era.

"But if everyone is part of the team, there’s a cliff. And … it could take years, years to get out of it."

Now, it could take even longer than that.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What does severe NBA Kawhi punishment mean for Clippers future?

Fines, suspensions, forfeited picks and temporary league banishment.

Those were the consequences the NBA came down with following their investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers for salary cap circumvention tactics with their superstar Kawhi Leonard.

The hammer came down hard on the Clippers, Leonard and those found to be involved with the investigation.

The league said it "found a pattern of misconduct" regarding salary cap circumvention leading to "significant rules violations contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)."

The NBA handed down penalties that included a $30 million fine to the Clippers and a $700,000 fine to Leonard. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended for a year, Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker is suspended for a year without pay and Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank is suspended for six months without pay.

The team lost five years worth of draft picks. Additionally, the Clippers will be monitored by the league for the next five years. Leonard's uncle, Dennis Robertson, is banned from doing business with anything or anyone NBA-related for five years.

The Clippers, once again, are the laughing stock of Los Angeles. Here are the winners and losers that come from this investigation:

WINNERS

Journalism

On behalf of journalists, shout out to Pablo Torre, who was the first one to break the news, now proven true.

Over the previous 11 months, Torre proved to all doubters that journalism, especially investigative journalism, is far from a dying demand. And despite naysayers who tried to attack his credibility as a journalist, he stuck to his guns, and the facts.

Amid content creators, internet personalities and media opportunists looking for their next chance to become a viral sensation, Torre proved that actual research and fact-checking is still the way to get clicks.

The Clippers messed around, Torre found out.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard is one of the biggest winners throughout all of this because he seemingly gets to pocket the millions of dollars that was wired to him for his "sponsorship duties."

His name and reputation comes out completely unscathed. No one looks at Leonard as unethical. He doesn't view himself that way. Leonard, in a social media post, denied any wrongdoing, but accepted responsibility.

"Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am. I accept full responsibility for lapses and judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family," Leonard wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. "I entered into my contract with the Clippers as well as the agreements in question and good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations, and with no knowledge of any intent on anyone’s part to circumvent the salary cap."

Regardless, he still walks away with $28 million from the alleged sponsorship deal. He might have had to cough up $700,000 back to the league, but what's $700,000 to $28 million? Accept responsibility (because that's just good for PR), pay the little fine and go on with your life.

Board man got paid.

Toronto Raptors

Amid all the drama, the Toronto Raptors come out on top.

They traded for Leonard in June 2026, sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, second-round picks in 2030 and 2033 and a 2027 first-round swap to the Clippers.

"For 15 years, my priority has been giving everything to my family, the game, and those I share the court with," Leonard said in his social media post. "As I return to Toronto, I am focused on what I can control, closing this chapter, and moving forward with a clean slate."

ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the trade is "on track."

"There's full expectation that this trade will be going down, as is," Charania wrote on X. "The trade is on track and both sides can move forward on this."

Leonard will join a team that includes a supporting cast of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. USA TODAY Sports gave the Raptors-Clippers trade an A- grade, as they position themselves to be a dark horse in the Eastern Conference title.

Clippers trades

It seems like a gut-punching blow for the Clippers following the investigation. It is.

The only win from this when you look at it, beyond the distractions, is that they won't completely lose all their draft picks for the foreseeable future.

The Clippers still have one first rounder in three of the five impacted years due to the trades they made, including with Toronto to send Leonard to the Raptors.

The Clippers have a first-round pick swap in 2027 and unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033.

That's the only positive takeaway from this debacle. Yes, they also get Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick to join a roster that has Darius Garland. But how good will the team even be?

Adam Silver

The NBA commissioner made a statement with the punishment. He sent a message throughout the league to other owners, players, agents, business partners, etc. You break the rules, there will be a price to pay. Literally, and figuratively.

LOSERS

Clippers organization

Once again, the Clippers prove to the league and the Los Angeles region, that they are the sporting joke of the town. Ballmer's suspended and his team was fined $30 million. Presidents of basketball and business operations, Frank and Zucker, were suspended for six months and a year, respectively, both without pay.

The Clippers lose picks and a superstar. There's a real world where the team could contend with the Sacramento Kings for worst team in the Pacific Division this year.

Uncle Dennis

Dennis Robertson, Leonard's uncle and former business manager, was not only fired amid the reports, but following the NBA's ruling he has been banned from "conducting business or otherwise engaging with NBA teams and their affiliates on behalf of or with respect to any player, employee, or other league or team personnel," the league said in a statement.

Robertson cannot associate with anyone or anything NBA, business-related for a period of five years.

Robertson violated the circumvention rules, on his nephew's behalf, by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses, the league said.

Maneuvers he tried in 2019 with the Lakers when Leonard was a free agent pursuing the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Lakers' then-owner Jeanie Buss didn't go for it.

Anyone and everyone who discredited Torre's Pulitzer Prize-winning work

All of those who were quick to discredit the reporting and findings from Torre's podcast, this section is for you, whether that's Mark Cuban, Steve Ballmer or ESPN personalities. Just loud and wrong. The apology should be just as loud.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA penalizes Clippers, Kawhi Leonard: Winners and losers from investigation