“Gotta put a stop to this!” Insider reveals how $5.5 billion franchise made NBA owners ‘jealous’
Los Angeles Clippers exploiting loopholes was the reason Brian Windhorst believes NBA brought in the new CBA.
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Los Angeles Clippers exploited the old NBA CBA to bring in multiple stars
Starting this NBA off-season, front office executives were racking their brains going over the new salary cap rules. Now they had to think a few seasons ahead before deciding on any move for a player. The Los Angeles Clippers were the first to face this problem when they couldn’t sign Paul George.
Had the new rules not been in place, it would have been a no-brainer to navigate through the loopholes and ensure George could stay at home. But since they could not give him the money he wanted, he went to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The new dreaded 2nd Apron rule in particular has made it harder for teams to blow up their salary cap and bring in star players. But it was the same Clippers who are at fault for this new rule, as ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst and Clippers star Norman Powell discussed on The Hoop Collective.
When the Clippers traded for you, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back with the owners. The day that trade went down, I was actually in LA at breakfast with an owner and. He was so, Norm… he was so pissed off. He was like, ‘I cannot believe the Clippers got Norm Powell! We gotta put a stop to this!’.
Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective
Brian Windhorst tells Norman Powell that NBA owners would get mad at how the Clippers would trade for talent and the trade for Powell may have been "the straw that broke the camel's back":
— Andy (@APH00PS) December 13, 2024
Windhorst: "I was in LA at breakfast with an owner and… he was so, Norm… he was so… pic.twitter.com/P1ZKTWLxop
Norman Powell understood that his trade to the Clippers played a major role in bringing this new CBA into effect. The reaction of that owner sitting with Brian Windhorst at the breakfast table suggested they had seen enough of the Los Angeles Clippers making a mockery of the previous salary cap rules.
Los Angeles Clippers exploits led NBA to bring stricter controls
The ESPN Insider and analyst did mention that the CBA was bound to happen, but the Powell trade ignited the fire to bring it into existence faster. The Clippers were notorious in exploiting the rule book and bringing in players when others felt it was not possible.
Starting from the time when they signed Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paul George, the Clippers were the destination most established stars looked towards. Despite a colossal cap hit, the team still brought in James Harden after negotiating a new contract with Russell Westbrook.
That Los Angeles Clippers squad had four Hall of Fame caliber players on their first team. But what was more surprising was the bench that they had. Usually such a team would have a weak bench, as they might have traded away good players or draft picks.
But the Clippers had a surprisingly good bench, which made everyone else raise their eyebrows. Powell’s trade probably made it all the more evident that they were exploiting the rules well. Eventually this offseason, they were the first team to lose two superstars and are now barely above .500. More importantly, that new CBA looks like it will level the playing field within the next few years.
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Joseph Varghese
(2309 Articles Published)