The Clippers proved that cheating and big names are not enough to win
The biggest story of the NBA offseason has been the Clippers cheating scandal. Despite many believing the punishment would be nothing more than a slap on the wrist – and Adam Silver saying “don’t do that” – the NBA announced the long awaited punishment. Multiple people involved with the scandal have been temporarily banned from the league, as well as the owner being fined $30m. The Clippers will also forfeit the 5 first round draft picks. This punishment leaves a team already missing young talent with an even bleaker future.
Essentially, the Clippers were found guilty of paying player Kawhi Leonard under the table to avoid the team’s spending crossing the salary cap. These sorts of financial scandals in sports are becoming more common, with multiple similar situations emerging around the world.
Just in the last few weeks, Manchester City has been found guilty of over 100 violations of Premier League and UEFA financial policy. Just after the Clippers situation concluded, the Milwaukee Bucks was investigated over a suspicious contract with one of their players. The Clippers themselves are now multi-time offenders, since they tried to pay Deandre Jordan extra money through endorsement deals, in a situation eerily similar to the one involving Leonard.
The funny thing about the Clippers’ situation is that they are cheating and all the trades they did this decade amounted to no winning. Before the recent punishment, the Clippers already lost a large amount of assets through the Paul George trade which is looking to be possibly the worst trade in NBA history. Recently, a graphic was doing the rounds on social media showing all the Clippers’ losses since signing Leonard: 2-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, Paul George leaving for nothing a couple seasons ago, ten first-round draft picks and two pick swaps.
After the team traded Paul George and signed Kawhi Leonard in the 2019 offseason, this team was expected to win a championship, maybe multiple. During the 2020 season, some even favoured them over the LeBron-led Lakers. However, in the last seven seasons, the Clippers have had very little success. In seven years, the Clippers won three total playoff series. This team did not even make the Finals in that span.
For some perspective: the Miami Heat, a team who made few significant moves during this stretch beyond signing Jimmy Butler in 2019, have reached the NBA Finals twice and have won eight playoff series this decade.
There is a lot of money in sports now, and some of the richest owners try to bypass financial rules because they think they can get away with it. But the Clippers proved that spending lots of money and signing big name players is not always enough to win.
