What NBA's Kawhi Leonard-Clippers Punishment Means for Celtics' 2028 Pick
A draft pick with a mind-boggling amount of protections just became even more interesting.
The NBA has severely penalized the Los Angeles Clippers for violating salary cap circumvention rules, stripping the team of five first-round picks from the 2029 to 2033 NBA Drafts. This punishment impacts the Boston Celtics, who control one of the Clippers' future first-round draft picks, which was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers in a Jaylen Brown trade this offseason.
The Celtics will not receive their 2028 first-round pick as part of the punishment, but the conditions for receiving the pick are complex and contingent on the Clippers' performance in future seasons. If the Clippers finish with a record of 1-16 in 2028 and the Philadelphia 76ers finish with a record of 1-8, the Celtics would receive the best of the respective teams' first-round picks, including the 2028 pick.
However, if the Clippers' performance remains strong, the Celtics could end up with a less advantageous pick due to new NBA Draft Lottery rules, which have made it difficult to predict the value of future picks and imposed restrictions on teams picking in the top five consecutively.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
