The NBA’s hammer could result in further drastic consequences for the LA Clippers.
The LA Clippers could potentially place guard Darius Garland “firmly” on the trade block, Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports reports this weekend. Deveney notes that the Clippers will now likely be trying to recoup as many future draft picks as they can after getting punished by the NBA pursuant to the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention scandal.
A few days ago, the bombshell news broke that the Clippers were being punished severely by the league after a lengthy investigation into the Leonard situation. The Clippers got docked five future first-round picks (from 2029-33) and also received several lengthy suspensions to multiple key team figures.
Meanwhile, Garland, 26, is one of the best veteran assets remaining on the Clippers’ current roster. He just arrived in February as part of the James Harden trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers but hardly makes sense for the Clippers any more now that they are expected to be very bad for the next several years.
Garland is a two-time NBA All-Star who averaged 19.9 points and 6.4 assists per game for the Clippers last season on superb 47/43/86 shooting splits. Meanwhile, Garland is only under contract for two more seasons and is owed $87 million through 2028.
The former top-five pick Garland is undersized at 6-foot-1 and is also injury-prone, having appeared in just 45 total games last season due to a toe issue. But now it looks like Garland could potentially be the lifeline to making the Clippers whole again in the post-Leonard era.
