Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 9/3/26
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ARTHUR HILL
11:01
Welcome to this week's chat. We'll start with a question on the Clippers.
Cale
11:01
How will the Clippers be affected by the Kawhi penalties? Will players be wary of staying/joining them in the next few years with those lost draft picks looming?
ARTHUR HILL
11:09
The penalty comes at a very bad time for the Clippers, who are in the midst of moving on from last season's veteran-laden roster. Outside of players on rookie deals, only Kobe Sanders is under contract beyond the 2027/28 season. Brandon Ingram can opt out next summer, and Darius Garland will be a free agent in 2028. They may already be looking ahead to their next teams, and the situation will only get worse if this season goes badly. The two picks they're getting from Toronto in the Leonard deal will help, but it's going to be a tough sell for Clippers management to attract star players over the next five to 10 years.
Cale
11:09
Based on the price the Clippers paid twice to try to make Kawhi happy (giving up all those picks + SGA for PG13, then getting fined five picks for circuvmention), is there a case to be made that the Clippers' decision to sign Kawhi is the worst move in NBA history?
ARTHUR HILL
11:20
The Clippers were looking for star power at the time and Kawhi had just won a title in Toronto, so the chance to combine him with Paul George seemed too good to be true. It's a move that virtually every GM would have made, even with the high price to acquire George from OKC. It turned out far worse than anyone could have imagined, costing the Clippers 10 first-round draft picks (the five they sent to the Thunder and the five they were docked by the league), plus Danilo Gallinari and a young Shai Gilgous-Alexander. The George trade built a potential dynasty for Oklahoma City, as SGA became a two-time MVP and one of L.A.'s draft picks turned out to be Jalen Williams. The penalty in the Leonard case adds to the misery for the Clippers, who may be headed to a return to their darkest days. It may not be the worst move in league history, but it would have been better for L.A. if Kawhi had stayed with the Raptors.
Esteban
11:21
Is it possible that the NBA will show some leniency toward the Clippers, and return some of their draft capital for good behavior ala what David Stern did for the Timberwolves years ago?
ARTHUR HILL
11:30
The Wolves also had to forfeit five first-round picks in 2000 for their wink-wink deal with Joe Smith, but two of them were restored three years later. However, as Chris Mannix points out, Minnesota accepted its penalty and was basically rewarded for "good behavior." It appears the Clippers are taking the opposite approach, calling the investigation "a witch hunt" and indicating a willingness to fight the results in court if necessary. If Wednesday's announcement isn't the end of this year-long saga, I don't think the league office will feel like being lenient. In fact, the Timberwolves precedent may be something that Adam Silver can hold over the Clippers to get them to shut up and move on.
Sterling Silver
11:30
Why is everyone saying this is the worst punishment?  Wasn't an owner forced to sell his team?  Asking for a friend.
ARTHUR HILL
11:38
Donald Sterling was forced to sell the Clippers and was banned from the NBA for life in 2014. The league also pressured Robert Sarver to part with the Suns in 2022. However, neither case was accompanied by a long-term penalty that affected the team's ability to be competitive. It could be argued that those were worse punishments personally for Sterling and Sarver, but nobody in the NBA was sorry to see them go and both franchises wound up with wealthier owners.
JD
11:39
Any reason to think the Kawhi trade won't go through as planned? COuld the Raptors back out or try to give up less?
ARTHUR HILL
11:45
Wednesday's announcement was probably a best-case scenario for Toronto. There was speculation that Leonard might be suspended or have his contract voided by the league, but his only real punishment was a $700K fine. The Raptors may be in position to exploit the situation and ask for extra assets for the Clippers, who are likely eager to finalize the deal as is and start moving past the Kawhi era. But I don't think that will happen. The Raptors are hoping that the addition of Kawhi will make them contenders in the East, and I don't expect them to do anything that will put the deal at risk.
Amen Thompson
11:45
Were you surprised by how much I signed for? Does that price suggest the Rockets are counting on me becoming an all star and number one guy?
ARTHUR HILL
11:54
The Rockets have been very cautious about handing out big contracts to their recent first-round picks, as Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason all agreed to relatively team-friendly deals. Thompson's five-year, $208MM extension stands out against that background, and it's a clear sign of how the organization views his potential. Thompson continued to show development in his third NBA season, even though he was often playing out of position due to Fred VanVleet's injury. He'll likely be even better this year as he won't be asked to run the offense. Thompson's defensive prowess and athleticism made him a valuable NBA player since the start of his career, and his offensive game has shown steady improvement, even though he's still a bad three-point shooter. The Rockets weren't able to amass a group of stars with their collection of first-rounders, but they believe Thompson will turn into one.
Wolvesfan
11:55
Does the addition of Jonathan Kuminga make the Wolves one of the top 4 teams in the West this season?
ARTHUR HILL
12:05
I think they were in that conversation before the Kuminga signing, even with an obvious need for a starting-level power forward. Kuminga will step into that role and will finally get the chance to be a regular starter for the first time in his career. Still, there's no guarantee that he'll be able to handle starter's minutes after five years of mostly coming off the bench. His offense can be erratic and he's never been a great defender or rebounder, which limited his playing time with Golden State and Atlanta. He may be a good fit in Minnesota and was certainly the team's best option late in the summer, but there's also a danger that he will be playing for his next contract and could be disruptive to team chemistry. I'd put the Wolves third in the West right now, but their offseason changes bring a level of uncertainty.
Embiid’s much shorter brother
12:05
A suggestion from the peanut gallery. I saw Killian Hayes’ picture on the site the other day and my first thought was what a bad draft pick. I’ve seen this done before on other sports sites - have you ever considered running a periodic topic revisiting a draft? For example, if we use the 2020 draft, it would be interesting to have a discussion about where guys would/should have been drafted based on how things have turned out. Just a suggestion on a random Thursday.
ARTHUR HILL
12:13
Hayes didn't work out for the Pistons, and his NBA future is in limbo after the Kings declined his option in June. He seemed like a solid prospect at the time, but Detroit's trajectory would have been much different by taking Deni Avdija, Tyrese Haliburton or Tyrese Maxey instead. The 2020 draft was odd in general because of COVID, as there was no NCAA Tournament and teams weren't able to host players for in-person interviews. That resulted in a lot of picks that turned out to be horrible mistakes in retrospect. Looking back at old drafts can be an interesting topic, and we'll consider your suggestion.
Thanks for all the great questions. We'll talk again next week.
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