The timing of the penalty gives the Clippers room to work, and the Toronto deal could still soften the blow.
The first draft pick the Los Angeles Clippers have to give up does not leave the building until 2029, and Brian Windhorst believes that gap is the main reason the punishment is easier to live with than the headlines made it sound.
He is not calling the ruling fair, but the ESPN reporter has spent all week arguing the outlook is better than the mood around the team.
The league announced on Wednesday that the Clippers forfeit five first-round picks, one in each draft from 2029 through 2033, along with a $30 million fine, a one-year suspension for owner Steve Ballmer and six months for Lawrence Frank.
Kawhi Leonard was ordered to pay $700,000, a split that has drawn strong opinions on how lightly the player got off.
The Clippers said they would challenge the findings through every avenue available, even though ESPN reported there is no formal appeal process with the league.
What Windhorst Sees
Windhorst made his case on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt hours after the ruling, and in comments transcribed by Basketball Network he said, "The Clippers are positioned to manage it because the first pick isn't being taken until 2029. They have three years to try to position themselves and absorb it."
He added that finishing the Leonard trade would bring back two first-round picks.
His second point is the one from the clip that went around on Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves case from 2000.
Windhorst said the Timberwolves were docked five first-round picks, cooperated with the league, got one pick back a year later and another two years after that, and ended up losing three.
Minnesota's draft history backs him up, with no first-round pick in 2001, 2002 and 2004 but picks made in 2003 and 2005.
His ESPN column later in the week urged the front office to lean on that precedent, and the angry statement the team put out is the opposite of what worked in Minnesota.
The Toronto Package Still Counts
Toronto's picks are the other half of the argument.
Under the deal agreed to on June 30 and reported by ESPN's Shams Charania, the Clippers would receive Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected firsts in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round swap and seconds in 2030 and 2033.
The trade went on hold July 9 and sat in limbo all summer during the investigation, and Charania said after the ruling it was expected to close within days, but as of Monday neither team had announced it.
Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective that Toronto might try to reopen the terms, and changing the package now would likely cost the Raptors more than it saves.
Why Patience Beats a Fight
The Clippers also took Keaton Wagler fifth overall in June, so one young piece is in place before any pick comes due.
None of this makes the ruling a good thing, but the honest read is the team has time, two Toronto firsts if the deal closes, and a precedent for getting some picks back, which is why some cautious optimism about the rebuild still holds up, as long as the front office stops swinging at the league and turning this into a fight that could drag into next year.
