Ban + contract is invalid? The most severe punishment in NBA history will be born, this is the ending that Xiao Hua doesn t want to see

Editor|Old Kankanqiu

NBA offseason is about to end. After a whole summer of strengthening, the strength of many teams in the league has been completely transformed. The most anticipated one is definitely the Houston Rockets. After ushering in key reinforcements such as Durant and Finney Smith, I don’t know how amazing performances can be achieved in the new season. Similarly, while expecting, there have been many ridiculous farces this summer, such as the contract extension conflict between the Golden State Warriors and rising star Kumingga, which lasted for a whole offseason and had not reached an agreement. The final result is likely to be a loss-making loss, which is sad.

And what is most surprising is the mystery of the Los Angeles Clippers. This offseason, after strengthening powerful players such as Bill, Paul, Collins, and Lopez, the Clippers management has been criticized for their age (setting the oldest record in the NBA history), but the team's balanced strength has rich game experience, which is indeed exciting. However, just as the new season approaches, a revelation from the US media The Athletic reporter Pablo Torre instantly pushed the Clippers into the whirlpool of public opinion.

According to Pablo Torre, Clippers owner Ballmer provides All-Star forward Leonard with a "named endorsement contract" through a now-bank company "Aspiration", in order to bypass the NBA's salary limit (commonly known as the "yin-yang contract"). Although Ballmer later clarified the contract and insider information through public media, it is obvious that the NBA League and other team owners did not buy it. The League Committee has commissioned the well-known New York law firm Wachtell Lipton to investigate the "yin and yang contract" incident.

Subsequently, John Hollinger, the most well-known salary expert in the NBA, gave a detailed interpretation of the case of Leonard and the Clippers falling into the Yin-Yang contract. Although the final investigation answer may take some time to be announced, there is an increasing amount of indirect evidence that the Clippers are likely to evade the salary cap. If the NBA finally determines that the Clippers have wage cap violations ('yin-yang contract'), the Los Angeles giants will face the most severe punishment in NBA history:

1. Deprive the Clippers of the draft picks for the next five years;

2. Clippers boss Ballmer and other senior management are suspended for up to one year, and fined up to $1 million per person;

3. Leonard's contract is directly invalidated and prohibited from signing with the Clippers;

4. Leonard needs to refund the endorsement fee obtained from Aspiration;

5. Leonard is fined up to $350,000;

6. The Clippers were fined up to $7.5 million.

Such a sky-high fine may directly cause the Clippers, the championship team to fall to the bottom of the Western Conference. Obviously, for Ballmer, who is worth over 100 billion US dollars, these fines may be just a "small error" in his own value. But compared to the fine, the real threat to this punishment is that Ballmer and other Clippers management may face a ban of up to one year, and the deprivation of draft picks will be an extremely fatal blow to the Clippers.

You should know that the league can strip five first-round picks from the Clippers, which is also the only five left first-round picks for the Clippers. This includes the free first-round picks in 2030, 2031, and 2032, as well as the draft pick swap rights in 2027 and 2029. In comparison, the Timberwolves' 1999 precedent of the "Yin-Yang Contract" on the "Joe-Smith Case" was punished with "deprived of five first-round picks", and most insiders of the league believe that the Timberwolves' violations back then were far less serious than the Clippers' accused of now.

The most complicated thing is the punishment for Leonard. According to Chapter 13 of the NBA Labor and Capital Agreement, the league has the right to invalidate Leonard's contract and prohibit him from signing the Clippers again. Obviously, this is the most direct punishment for the Clippers, but for other teams, this move is hugely controversial:

First of all, Leonard is indeed the nominal team leader to the Clippers. But this star has become the norm for a long time in recent years, and his condition has also declined sharply, while his salary is as high as 50 million US dollars. If its contract is ultimately voided, the Clippers will have top-notch cap space next summer, which can both rebuild the roster and sign big-name star players from the free market. Is this a punishment or a ‘reward’ for the Clippers?

Secondly, after Leonard's contract is invalidated, it will enter the free market, which will cause great trouble to the league. If Leonard chooses to join a championship team with a basic salary, what impact will this have on the competitive balance of the entire league? Obviously, this will directly break the current championship pattern. In addition to the Clippers and this team, the bosses of the other 28 teams in the league will definitely break out in protest.

Then, the last compromise is to 'ban Leonard', but this not only punishes Leonard too much, but also may trigger fierce conflicts between the league and the players' union. Therefore, it is obvious that this situation is what President Xiao Hua least wants to see. How to punish will be a difficult choice to test his wisdom. From the league's perspective, the safest way may be: delay the entire investigation and punishment process until next spring, and then invalidate Leonard's contract after the regular season is over, so that he can find a new team through normal processes in the summer.

No matter what the final result is, the Clippers' prospects for winning the championship have been cast in shadow, and the NBA landscape may also be completely changed by a contract.