[Special] What Would An NBA Death Penalty Look Like? A Clippers Side Story

[Wammy Giveaway]

Did Steve Ballmer purposely funnel money to Kawhi Leonard, circumventing the salary cap, and if so, why did they do it? That's what the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are trying to determine, and if there were deals being made under the table, the NBA could nail the Clippers with the harshest of penalties since the Joe Smith salary cap scandal of 2000. There are a few issues with handing down these punishments:

1. Lack of available draft picks to take
2. Ballmer's riches
3. Clippers have cooperated with the league in their investigation
4. Timberwolves still made the conference finals while penalized

It's possible the Clippers could still get off with a slap on the wrist. Therefore, there may only be one thing that can work, a punishment that has never been done before in the history of professional sports: taking their season away.

Known colloquially in college sports as the Death Penalty, the NCAA has only used it five times in its history, with each use leaving the offending universities crippled. No professional sports league has ever attempted taking a team's season away, not even the MLB, NHL or NFL. Having to cancel one team's entire season could have massive catastrophic results around the sports world. It was hinted in an article on the Toronto Sun that some NBA personnel would want for that grand punishment to happen, though journalist Ryan Wolstat had to make clear the Clippers will not get such a ban, even if social media argues otherwise.

This post, I will be looking at the season cancellation portion of the Death Penalty. What if the NBA had to implement an NCAA Death Penalty, how would it work, its ramifications, and how it would affect the Clippers.

SMU

The most notable instance of the Death Penalty was used in 1987 on Southern Methodist University (SMU) for paying recruits to field competitive football teams. SMU dominated the Southwest Conference from 1981 to 1987 with a combined five losses, including an undefeated season in 1982. With the aid of a slush fund, new recruits arrived to ride at the Pony Express at unusually high amounts. David Stanley was paid $25,000, and Reggie Dupard got a car. SMU were repeat offenders, having been caught the first time in 1980 and put on probation, barred from appearing in bowl games. A second sanction in 1985 warranted an emergency meeting to introduce the Death Penalty, with SMU voting against its implementation. When the university was caught for the third time in 1987 - on tape via WFAA - three strikes, yer out! NCAA banned SMU from competing in the 1987 season.

NBA & NCAA Vs. Los Angeles Clippers

From the day the scandal broke out in early September, what I learned from social media is that for a punishment to be effective, it must be instant, damaging and harmful. I've gathered a lot of interesting responses to the types of punishment Clippers could get, some serious (ex. banning them from the postseason), some funny (ex. being forced to bring back Paul George). I agree that it has to be fitting, but you have to be sure that the punishment also goes after the team's greatest strength and their fail safes.

It all starts with the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade, Clippers trading a then-record seven 1st round picks for Paul George as a condition to signing Leonard. The cupboard would be depleted further in the James Harden trade, leaving them with no 1st rounders until sometime in the 2030's. Even with 2nd round picks to take, they haven't always struck gold on them, for they have been the worst at drafting ever since trading away SGA.

In late September, there was a new report that Clippers want Leonard gone, be it by trade or the NBA voiding his contract. It would be extra sweet if Leonard was suspended from the league for a year to prevent the Lakers or even the Thunder from using him against the Clippers in a psychological way.

Steve Ballmer is the richest owner in all of sports, so fines have no effect on him. Suspending Ballmer might work, but you cannot deny his enthusiastic hardcore passion; he'll always find a way to cheer for the Clippers even when he's not there. The ongoing investigation is now including 2019, meaning general manager Lawrence Frank could also be subjected to some kind of penalty. Keep in mind, Clippers were scrutinized for sending scouts to follow Leonard and Doc Rivers was fined for his comments on comparing Leonard to Michael Jordan, which all happened under his watch. A few lawsuits also popped up throughout the Leonard era. Clippers are also repeat offenders: in 2015, the franchise was fined for unauthorized endorsements in their pitch to DeAndre Jordan.

Finally, the Clippers are a resilient bunch. They have a history of coming back from games where the odds are at a scant 0.01%, be it from 25 point deficits or when odds makers have them out of the playoffs completely. They are also the only team to come back from down 2-0 twice in the same playoffs, and coach Tyronn Lue is the only coach to pull off a 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals. When the Timberwolves were sanctioned in 2000 with fines, a Glen Taylor suspension, Kevin McHale taking a leave of absence, five picks forfeited, and Joe Smith's contract voided, they were still allowed to chase awards and make the playoffs; Clippers can do the same. Maybe no punishment will work against them, maybe it might have to be an NCAA Death Penalty.

The NBA Death Penalty

Here is how I think an NBA Death Penalty would work:

1. The team is banned from competition for one entire year. All players on the team will have their contracts voided.
2. All tax penalties are applied. That would be the 2nd apron, luxury taxes, and sanctioned fines.
3. All untouched and/or future draft picks, 1st and 2nd, are forfeited for the next two years.
4. Upon returning from suspension, the team is barred from the draft, the postseason and awards for one year.

By taking a whole season away, you hit the Clippers at their strongest point: competitive relevancy. They are looking to rebuild for the next era, and a great showing in the next two years could give them a leg up into signing superstar free agents. Without that, Clippers will be operating a year behind and forced to assemble a team out of scraps. Without youth to complement the veterans behind a combination of forfeited picks and bans towards the draft and the postseason, they will have nothing to show for it except being easy wins to opposing teams and acting as the third wheel in trade discussions. Clearly, an NCAA Death Penalty would ruin the Clippers for a decade. If Commissioner Adam Silver had that power, it would prove that he is looking after the league's best interests and not play favorites.

It was hard for me to find a con that isn't about money, but I'll give it a shot. The NBA is a business; they rent arenas, have TV deals, and make sponsorships. If that one team were to get the penalty, the league would take a financial hit by way of missed games from that team. The sanctity of an 82-game season would be disrupted; what a headache that would be for the NBA schedulers. Clippers would not welcome a season cancellation, not with their Intuit Dome that is hosting their first ever All-Star Game. They could take a postseason ban instead and still be allowed to compete for the good of the league, keeping their All-Star Weekend intact. Certain teams would still want to face the Clippers anyway to advance their postseason purposes, and it would be a disservice to not have them in the lineup. Another idea I considered was reducing the Clipper's season from 82 to 66 or 50, both numbers familiar to the NBA Lockout. That would give the Clippers no margin of error, needing to win at least 33 or 25 games respectively to be above .500 while having a shot at the postseason.

Remember, this is a what-if. Do you think the NBA would ever trot out an NCAA Death Penalty? When you apply this to the Clippers, is it the only punishment that could work? If not, what would be the best type of punishment that would affect only the Clippers and not the NBA as a whole?

Furthermore, why does the NCAA Death Penalty work on colleges but not on professional sports?

[Caneman786]

Nothing Burger! Cook em Klaw.

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[God Squad]

[The Laker Kid]

I say convert Intuit Dome floor into an assfault

[SlimShady83]

It's offseason still, but we don't need this - just read headline and that's all i'm doing.

[hauntedcomputer]

Now the underhanded deal is the owners trying to figure out how to give the appearance of punishment without actually making Ballmer mad.

[HotelVitale]

OP, I think almost everyone thinks a Wolves-like punishment would be stiff and harsh enough, you're overstating both the severity of the Clips' offense and the weakness of the Wolves-type punishment. The Clips probably circumvented the cap and that's a firm and fair rule that the NBA has to maintain, but it also was just to sign one player who already wanted to come there, and it was more like pushing a common tactic (finding endorsement for stars) over the line. And taking away a ton of picks absolutely hits a team hard.

It also doesn't make the punishment less strong that the Wolves still had one good season during the punishment, or that the Clips don't have a lot of picks coming soon. MIN won some PO games in spite of their punishment early into it (and then they were an embarrassment after), and the fact that the Clips would have no picks well into the future makes their outlook pretty bleak.

Your thing about the Clippers being 'resilient' also seems irrelevant (and full of odd details)--punishments shouldn't ever be determined by whether or not they're going to make someone lose all hope and want to die. Good for the Clips' fans and coaches etc if they can keep head up while enduring a tough punishment, doen't make the punishment less tough/adequate.

[ImmortalD24]

Solution is simple.. disqualify the team from making the playoffs regardless of record as well as well as forfeit draft picks several consecutive years.. That will honestly teach them a lesson not to mess around and force star players to venture elsewhere.

[NyKnicks1714]

Taking their whole season away is ridiculous for a billion reasons, perhaps most of all because it would cost the NBA and all its teams a ton of money. You're penalizing everyone.

That would be like taxpayers having to pay when cops lose or settle excessive force lawsuits....hey wait a second.

[zimpy27]

They should let them play the season, build momentum, look like a legit championship threat. Then on the last day of the season tell them they can't play Kawhi in the playoffs.

I mean, this has effectively been the Clippers story anyway

[dhsilv2]

We saw the death penalty done to the Wolves...and the league realized it was too much and backed slightly off. And they still crashed them...

[MrGoat]

An easier punishment would be to just force the Clippers to give Kawhi a full 5 year max after his current contract expires

[dhsilv2]

They should let them play the season, build momentum, look like a legit championship threat. Then on the last day of the season tell them they can't play Kawhi in the playoffs.

I mean, this has effectively been the Clippers story anyway

I was about to say...that's a tuesday for the clippers.

[badpotato]

An easier punishment would be to just force the Clippers to give Kawhi a full 5 year max after his current contract expires

Rewarding dirty, greedy player in the process? Kawhi needs to be punished severly too - so no other player/agent thinks it's okay to ask for this kind of considerations and that the team will take a fall for it if this ever comes out.

[azcatz11]

I want to see something happen to the season holders also. I believe they are complicit.

[dhsilv2]

An easier punishment would be to just force the Clippers to give Kawhi a full 5 year max after his current contract expires

Rewarding dirty, greedy player in the process? Kawhi needs to be punished severly too - so no other player/agent thinks it's okay to ask for this kind of considerations and that the team will take a fall for it if this ever comes out.

Agree, part of his new deal is he has to do standup before and after each game. Min 30 minutes and the fans get to heckle with no punishment.

[badpotato]

An easier punishment would be to just force the Clippers to give Kawhi a full 5 year max after his current contract expires

Rewarding dirty, greedy player in the process? Kawhi needs to be punished severly too - so no other player/agent thinks it's okay to ask for this kind of considerations and that the team will take a fall for it if this ever comes out.

Agree, part of his new deal is he has to do standup before and after each game. Min 30 minutes and the fans get to heckle with no punishment.

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[LuDux1]

Now the underhanded deal is the owners trying to figure out how to give the appearance of punishment without actually making Ballmer mad.

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[jowglenn]

Let's get creative with it. No chance they'd do something as drastic as a death penalty (voiding the players' contracts, yeah right) but what about the following?

Power Play - for two minutes every game, the Clippers must play four-on-five against their opponents. They can choose when they do those two minutes.

Ghost Shot - Once per quarter, the opposing coach gets to press a secret button - once pressed, the next Clippers field goal attempt is an automatic miss, even if it goes in! And the Clippers don't know when the button has been pressed!

Sky High - the Clippers must fly commercial to every game. No private planes. Maybe no first class seats either.

[Clav]

An easier punishment would be to just force the Clippers to give Kawhi a full 5 year max after his current contract expires

That's diabolical