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NO!

It's

 

Just glad we're out of the Kawhi circus

 

Say they actually void Kawhi's contract (which I'd be shocked if they did)...do we bring him in?

 

No way. I think I dislike Kawhi as much as I dislike KD now.

 

can't see how they'd void the contract this far out from the violation. also, i think that's a gift to the clippers, tbh.

i still think they should operate with a lower cap/tax threshold for a few years. that punishment would fit the crime. what year did they sign djj? the 7 million they funneled under the table to kawhi enabled that, imo.

 

1. Void Kawhi's contract but put a cap-hold on Clippers for half his salary $25 million, for the remainder of the contract (2 seasons).
2. Kawhi should get suspended for the entire year... Dude went around the league asking teams to break the rules quite blatantly.
3. Seems like Clippers have the 2030-2032 first round picks... take them all away.
4. Fine Clippers and Ballmer the maximum amount allowed.
5. Ban Kawhi's uncle from anything NBA-related until after Kawhi is retired.
6. Give Zubac back to the Lakers

That would put an end to this charade very quickly.

 

I’d like to see Uncle Dennis banned, Kawhi banned for a season, clippers losing cap space for a few years and big fines.

That’ll effectively close the window on the Kawhi led team which is only fair. I’m not in favour of taking away too many draft picks, because let’s say you take away everything to 2032, that means the team can’t select young talent till after that and with young player development that’s a 10 year death sentence before they’re back to any kind of competitive nature. That’s harsh on the fans that didn’t do anything.

I’m more in favour of punishing the parties that were part of this, a 2 year suspension effectively retires Kawhi.

 

if we start going nuclear i start switching to team slick/svtzr--it's bad for business to go too far. plus, while i've made many arguments that i believe this is uniquely bad, ballmer wouldn't be wrong to say lesser versions of this are happening (with us, too, for sure).

i think they'll have to do something. i think it won't even be as severe as my suggestion, and it's not going to approach what you're saying here, imo.

 

Isn't the cap circumvention written into the CBA? This is what AI lists

• Massive Fines: The team can be fined up to $6 million. Additionally, any team personnel who knowingly participated can be fined up to $250,000.
  
  
• Loss of Draft Picks: The team can be forced to forfeit one or more draft picks, which can severely impact a team's future.
  
  
• Voiding of Contracts: The commissioner has the power to void any player contract that was part of the circumvention scheme.
  
  
• Player Suspensions: Any player involved can be suspended from the league.
  

I could definitely see a 6 million dollar fine and losing 1-2 draft picks for this

 

That.

 

yeah, my cap threshold punishment is fictitious and rests on the kind of vague power with which the cba seems to imbue the commissioner.

6 million does nothing, nada, zero to ballmer or the clips. now, if those fines were creatively applied as cap penalties, i'm in. otherwise, they're an absolute joke.

the draft picks are serious. i think losing a bunch is pretty draconian, as svtzr laid out. that's why i said what if you just put trade restrictions on them? or put some reverse lotto-protections on them (lol, they should be forced to swap lotto picks for toronto non-lotto picks).

voiding contracts is a boon to the clippers and shouldn't be considered unless their cap reflects the full brunt. the future play would still be to cheat like hell, then the second a guy tears an achilles you can blow the whistle on yourself. but if it's voided and the clips still pay, does kawhi get shafted? players will HATE that. can't see it.

i do think kawhi deserves some punishment, but man...not playing and collecting cash is his briar patch for sure.

in short, i don't love the options as laid out. you'd have to get creative for me to think we've come to something fair.

edit: 6 million and 2 picks is the slap on the wrist i expect. i don't think it's enough to deter, but it's enough to save face for the league. next cba, they'll write clearer language about this stuff.

which ballmer will then circumvent again because this punishment was meh.

 

Playoff P and Klimate Klaw

 

Clippers gonna Clip.

CFO signing off on contract a big deal. Means team was aware of contract that was signed.

Ballmer was still dupped.

there was a clear motivation to pay Kawhi.

He had an agreement with them.

He got paid.

Kawhis clear motivation was to get paid.


Discipline simple.

loss of 2 draft picks.

Ballmer has lost a lot. I think he’s getting a million dollar fine.

Kawhi is fined $500,000

and probably suspended anywhere from 10-20 games.

in which I’m suspecting him to serve at the beginning of next season. Next year. After Kawhi and his legal team appeal.

Clippers and Ballmer will appeal.

after Kawhis appeal I think they’ll settle at 5 games. Or 10 games.

Actual there might be an effort for NBA to recoup and give that money back and make Kawhi give some of that money back. They will be going after that 28 million.

Uncle Dennis Robertson will absolutely be banned from the league.

Now I expect a light sentence if Ballmer told Silver the truth when they talked. I don’t think he lied. If he did lie well that’s it.

My reason for thinking Ballmer wouldn’t do anything. No owner would risk losing their team just to sign a player or resign a player.

this is any player Michael Jordan or LeBron James.

 

LeBrons back.

Basically said he’s been golfing. He likes feeling uncomfortable. Says Golf is hard as s***.

says he’s nowhere near retiring. But says he’s knows it’s around the corner he’s just not there yet.

Says he’s on the other end of his career and knows that.

and actually he’s a music producer says he produced 2 chainz last album and he pushed for two songs to be left on there.

He says he’s a big music guy.

 

He wanted Westbrook even more. We argued about that non-stop. Good guy to have posting.

 

Too easy, IMO.

$6 million means nothing to Ballmer. It's just a formality so I don't really see it as a punishment.

2 picks is nothing, either, relative to the egregious act. Clips are already clearing cap for the impending Giannis/Jokic free agency where only Zubac is the remaining player. They have zero intentions of rebuilding through picks. They could use the picks as trading pieces but something has to give here.

Something has to be done about Kawhi because he clearly coerced teams to act on rule-breaking. On top of getting free money, which he isn't entitled to over the cap, there should also be a message sent to the players that you're going to lose a s*** ton of money if you mess around with it.

 

Man you really have it out for the Clips. I save my disdain for Boston, Clippers are like that awkward younger brother that tries to hang around. They’re not a threat.

The only way I see the league taking all their draft picks and voiding contracts or punitive cap restrictions if they can prove cap circumvention and that it either benefited them in team building and/or securing Kawhi in 2019. I don’t see that being likely, and I don’t see the appetite from one of the main groups, the commissioner, the players association or the owners to really bring about something serious.

Most likely it’s a fine, a draft pick and uncle Dennis gets the boot.