Even as the Los Angeles Clippers enter preseason training and march toward the regular season proper, the story that has and likely will continue dominating headlines around the team will be the reckoning handed out by the NBA earlier this summer for the Clippers' attempt at salary cap circumvention.

After a yearlong investigation, the NBA found the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard guilty of attempting to circumvent the salary cap through business arrangements between the Clippers, Leonard and several businesses for endorsement deals that were found to have violated NBA policies. 

As a result of the investigation, the Clippers were stripped of five future first-round picks, Leonard was forced to pay $700,000 in restitution, owner Steve Ballmer was fined $30 million and Ballmer, president of business operations Gillian Zucker and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank were all issued suspensions. 

The narrative around the Clippers regarding the investigation won't be going away anytime soon, and Leonard has been since traded away to the Toronto Raptors, but for the players that remain on the Clippers roster, their job's are to move forward and continue to play basketball despite all of the noise. 

That's exactly what guard Darius Garland is trying to do. Garland was brought to the Clippers at last season's deadline in a shocking trade that sent guard James Harden to the Cleveland Cavaliers in return. In his brief time with the Clippers, Garland has already made a serious impact and he's poised to be a veteran leader on the team going forward. 

Even though he's been traded to the Clippers during a time where things are uncertain around the organization, Garland is confident in his team and his role within it.

"It's a lot that happened. But this too shall pass," Garland said (via OhNoHeDidn't24 on X). "My mentality hasn't changed at all. When I got traded here last year, they wanted me to come and be a leader and be a spark. We could play faster, we can move the ball, push the pace. So my mindset and mentality hasn't changed. We actually gotten better"

The NBA's punishment has been doled out and there's nothing the team can do about it at this point, even less so for the players who represent the team out on the floor every night. The best thing that the players that remain is move forward and focus on playing their best basketball, a mentality that Garland has certainly been exhibiting.

His position as a leader of the franchise will be more critical than ever given the circumstances, but Garland has already shown that he can be a steady presence and a true engine for the offense that this massively transformed team can play through. 

There may not be many expectations for the rebuilding Clippers going into this season, but there will certainly be a weight on their shoulders. Garland more than anyone else is prepared to carry that weight.