The punishment changed what this franchise is allowed to hope for, and a teenage guard now carries most of it.
The Los Angeles Clippers walked into this season with a roster full of accomplished veterans and one rookie who suddenly means more than all of them.
Guard Keaton Wagler, the fifth overall pick in June's draft, was always going to be a big part of the future in Los Angeles.
Then the league handed down its ruling in the Kawhi Leonard investigation, and the future got a lot narrower.
What the Ruling Took Away
The NBA's September 2 punishment stripped the Clippers of five first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, fined the franchise $30 million and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for a year, with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank sitting out six months.
The commissioner has stood firmly behind the severity of it all.
The Leonard trade brought back Toronto's first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 plus a 2027 swap, but the team has almost nothing of its own left on the draft board.
Rebuilding through the draft, the normal path for a team that loses its star, is mostly closed for the next half decade.
That is what makes Wagler different from every other young player in the league.
Most rookies get to develop next to a pipeline of future lottery tickets.
Wagler is the lottery ticket, quite possibly the only top-five talent this franchise will draft until the 2030s.
SB Nation's Cooper O'Kelly put the rookie's situation plainly in the days after the ruling.
"The 19-year-old former Illini is weathering a heck of a storm for his first year in the league, something that could end up having an impact on his rookie season."
Why the Talent Is Worth It
The good news for Los Angeles is that Wagler looks ready for the job.
He led Illinois to a Final Four while averaging 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists, and at 6-foot-6 he can run an offense or play off the ball.
That is a rare mix for a teenager, and it is a big reason the pick drew so little argument in June.
The flexibility also fits neatly next to guard Darius Garland, letting Wagler learn without carrying the offense on day one.
The veterans around him, from forward Brandon Ingram to center Brook Lopez, give the roster enough talent to stay respectable while the rookie grows into more.
The organization behind him is another story, with the front office in open turmoil while Frank serves his suspension.
A teenager should not have to be the stable part of a franchise, but that is roughly where this one finds itself.
What Is Riding on Him
If Wagler becomes a star, the punishment era gets remembered as a painful detour.
If he stalls, Los Angeles faces a stretch with no star, no picks and no clean way out, since the trade market is hard to work without draft capital to attach.
No other rookie in the league carries that much franchise math on his shoulders, and no other Clipper, however accomplished, changes the team's ceiling the way he can.
Veterans can keep the floor respectable for a season or two, but only Wagler can raise where this whole thing tops out.
His development is the whole ballgame now.
