Uh oh. Clippers are screwed.
Damn if true the Clippers are screwed. The wolves were the last team to do that and the punishment was:
The league stripped the Timberwolves of five draft picks (first round 2001–2005), but it was eventually reduced to three first-round picks (2001, 2002, and 2004). The league also fined the Timberwolves $3.5 million and suspended general manager Kevin McHale for one year.
Would have to imagine the Clippers could lose 5 since it’s involving a star player.
Yeah I was trying to think if any other teams have tried this since the Wolves got busted for it. Stern was the commish back then though, I kind of have a feeling Adam Silver might go easy on them. Which as a Wolves fan myself would make me slightly upset.
There’s 2 reasons I think he won’t go easy
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The other owners have seemed to be annoyed with Balmers spending ability to the point they put actual team building penalties like the 2nd apron into the last CBA so think there will be pressure from other owners to throw the book at him especially with it being a star player.
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With gambling legalized and the league promoting it, there’s an expectation the league should enforce fairness even more than before. The league is already dealing with questions of legitimacy with the gambling investigation on some players, they really don’t want teams skirting cap rules on top of that. They’ll likely get pressure from the sportsbook partners since if people think it’s rigged they won’t bet.
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I’m surprised this isn’t more common. I guess the hefty fines that were imposed previously with the Wolves is a deterrent, but I imagine rich people have ways to pay someone off the books unlike what the Clippers did. Also, occam’s razor: Most owners are cheap and wouldn’t want to pay a dime more than what is officially agreed.
With the exception of the moment you sell it, owning a professional sports team is a giant money sink. The obscenely rich do it for the attention and to rub it in the faces of all their friends. No matter how rich you are, you cannot own an NBA team unless an existing owner wants to sell or unless you pay off the existing owners to allow an expansion team.
Both attention and bragging rights increase the more a team wins. No owner wants to be in a position where they paid a lot to buy a team, have to pay a lot in team payroll, but still lose. If an owner is already heavily invested in a team and sees an opportunity to invest a little bit more for a lot more success, it makes sense to take it.
He’s been a no-show for the regular gig for years as well.
Yeah this seems like kind of a waste of money. Idk how many good years he has left, if any.
Punish him by making him play 82 games lol
