Clippers Doomed? Reporter Says They Still Have 4 First-Round Picks Over Next 7 Years and $50 Million in Cap Space Next Summer to Pursue Superstars, Better Than Suns

The Los Angeles Clippers were stripped of five first-round picks (2029-2033) over the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap circumvention case. Ballmer was also heavily fined $30 million, while Zuck and Frank were suspended. Lakers fans began celebrating the Clippers' early collapse, but are the Clippers really going to sink?

On September 5 Beijing time, CBS reporter Sam Quinn conducted an extensive analysis of the situation. A reporter asked: Have the Clippers become the team with the bleakest outlook in major professional sports? Are there any teams with a worse next decade than the Clippers?

Sam Quinn replied in a repost: Honestly, I would rather play for LAC than play for the Phoenix Suns.

He added: People think the Clippers lost their future after their first-round picks were taken away. That is not actually the case. They still have four first-round picks over the next seven years, including two unprotected picks from the Raptors and one of their own picks with top-three protection. Other than the Suns' 2032 first-round pick, their picks in the remaining years are either unavailable or can be swapped by others.

The Clippers also have relatively flexible salary commitments. In the summer of 2027, they can clear more than $50 million in cap space, and they are located in a major market like Los Angeles. The Suns, meanwhile, still have four years of Beal's dead money and long-term contracts (I suspect they may also be worth very little in the future).

The Clippers just selected a highly talented prospect like Wagner. I am personally a fan of his, though I cannot guarantee his future development. However, the Suns do not even have this type of promising young player, so overall I would rather play for the Clippers.

There could be multiple superstars on the 2027 summer free-agent market: Jokic (player option), Giannis (player option), James (player option), Durant (player option), Butler, Leonard (not yet extended), Curry (not yet extended), Irving, Towns, Davis, Gobert, Ingram, Barrett, Randle, Jalen Green and others.

He continued: The Suns do have more draft picks than the Clippers, but the Clippers' picks are clearly in better positions and likely to be higher. The Suns have Beal's dead money after a potential buyout and a large number of bad contracts (I guess they will also re-sign Bridges), while LAC has much more salary flexibility.

You can say the Clippers are in bad shape, but they are not the only struggling team in the league. The Kings and Pelicans are also in difficult situations. This is not because of their assets, but because their management approaches have been poor.

Over the past seven years, the Clippers have consistently been one of the biggest players in the league's free-agent and buyout markets. Now that the signing violation scandal has emerged, it is understandable that people question some of their signing practices, but objectively speaking, they have done a good job given their salary-cap limitations.